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Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 28/10/2019.

Statement by Ambassador Jonathan Allen, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council briefing on the Middle East.

Madam President, the UK remains concerned by the negative trends in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We continue to be deeply concerned by ongoing Israeli settlement advancements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in violation of international law. We urge Israel to fulfill its obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

I would also reiterate here the United Kingdom’s position that annexation of any part of the West Bank would be destructive to peace efforts and could not pass unchallenged. Annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law.

Madam President, we are troubled by the increase in settler violence. Many recent incidents – including assaults on Palestinian farmers, the setting fire to olive trees and stealing of produce – have coincided with the Palestinian olive harvest, which began earlier this month. The Israeli authorities have a responsibility to provide appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population.

We are also extremely concerned that the number of structures demolished this year has increased by almost 40 percent compared to the same period last year. We condemn the demolition of Palestinian property and evictions of Palestinians from their homes.

Ongoing and periodic tensions on Haram al-Sharif, or Temple Mount, are a further source of concern. We recognize that Jerusalem holds huge significance and holiness for Jews, Muslims and Christians and reiterate the fundamental necessity of maintaining the status quo at the holy sites.

Turning to Gaza, Madam President, the reduction in violence at the border fence is welcome and we urge continued calm. Indiscriminate attacks against civilians are unacceptable and unjustifiable. Hamas and other terrorist groups must cease all actions which are violent or provocative. The United Kingdom fully supports Israel’s right to defend its citizens from such acts of terror.

I would also like to echo the concern relayed by the special coordinator that Hamas is putting children at risk of violence at the demonstrations at the Gaza fence. Children should never be the target of violence. They must never be put at the risk of violence or encouraged to participate in violence. It is totally unacceptable that Hamas and their operatives have been cynically exploiting the protests for their own benefit. Hamas must cease all actions which proactively encourage violence or which put civilian lives at risk.

The United Kingdom underlines the damage that Israeli restrictions are doing to the living standards of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza. We call on Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to work together to ensure a durable solution.

In more positive developments, Madam President, we welcome the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on the transfer of tax revenues. We urge Israel and the Palestinian Authority to continue to work together to meet their obligations under the Oslo Accords. And we continue to urge the Palestinian Authority to make reforms to prisoner payments, ensuring it is needs-based, transparent and affordable.

Madam President, we welcome the work by the Palestinian leadership towards genuine and democratic national elections for all Palestinians.

Madam President, we need a viable Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, which addresses the legitimate concerns of both parties. That means we need genuine and committed engagement from both Israelis and Palestinians, including the end of actions which undermine trust and threaten the viability of the two-state solution.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 29/10/2019.

Statement by Ambassador Karen Pierce, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council briefing on Women, Peace and Security.

Thank you very much, Mr President.

The UK was pleased to vote in favour of the resolution that South Africa proposed today and we are very grateful for your efforts to secure Council consensus on this resolution and the efforts of your mission.

We welcome the resolution’s focus on implementation. Implementation is the United Kingdom’s main priority on Women, Peace and Security as we look forward to the 20th anniversary of Resolution 1325 next year. We believe that this resolution represents the final push that the Council needs to provide on implementation. From the United Kingdom’s perspective, our focus should now be on delivering on the ambition of the full existing framework of Women Peace and Security resolutions, and not producing more texts.

Turning to the text itself, we endorse its confirmation of this Council’s call for full – and I stress that word “full” – implementation of SCR 1325 and its encouragement of increased engagement by Member States and UN agencies, as well as increased support for civil society.

Mr President, the emphasis on full implementation – and again I stress “full” – is vital. The implementation gap is visible right the way across the Women, Peace and Security agenda; we have not seen sufficient progress in ensuring women’s meaningful participation, or in increasing the number of women in peacekeeping, nor in building an effective response to conflict-related sexual violence.

In all cases, Mr President, this needs to include sexual and reproductive health services. I know that not all member states agree with this but from the perspective of the United Kingdom, SRHR and their services are a vital part of public services for women in all countries and a vital part of ensuring that women can play a truly equal role in the building of their countries.

We welcome the resolution’s support for the creation of safe and enabling environments for civil society, as well as the importance of funding, which we consider essential for organisations and individuals to carry out their work, free of interference and free from fear.

However, I have to say, Mr President that the United Kingdom was disappointed that the Council did not seize the opportunity for a resolution more ambitious in scope.

Firstly, we believe that the resolution would have broken new ground if it had included explicit language on women human rights defenders and their protection and their security. The work of women human rights defenders is essential to the functioning of democracy and the maintenance and achievement of peace.

Secondly, we regret it wasn’t possible to include broader recognition of civil society’s role in implementation. We talk a lot about implementation in meetings and events in New York, but civil society – especially women at the grassroots level – are responsible for making this Council’s resolution a reality on the ground. They are the ones on the front lines, and they need increased recognition and support in order to effect greater and more effective change.

Thank you, Mr President.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 09/01/2020.

Delivered by Ambassador Neil Bush at the OSCE Permanent Council on 9 January 2020 in response to a speech by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Mr Chair, Ambassador Igli Hasani,

I align with the statement delivered on behalf of the EU and wanted to add some remarks in my national capacity.

We warmly welcome the Prime Minister to Vienna and thank him for outlining the priorities of the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship in 2020.

The UK is a strong proponent of the OSCE, which is a critical multilateral institution for European and Euro-Atlantic security. At the heart of the OSCE is conflict prevention and conflict resolution. These require a number of elements – upholding OSCE principles and commitments; having an effective early warning system; mediation; monitoring; and ensuring no abuse of power in individual countries.

We welcome your Chairmanship’s prioritisation of conflict resolution, including the work of the Special Monitoring Mission and the Trilateral Contact Group, as well as the resolution of the other protracted conflicts in the OSCE. We too attach great importance to the work of the OSCE’s field presences across the region.

As incoming Chair of the Security Committee – I would like firstly to thank Albania for this opportunity, and His Excellency the Prime Minister for identifying as priorities organised crime, countering violent extremism and cybersecurity. We will work with your delegation to finalise a work plan for the year and will brief the Permanent Council on this in February.

As chair of the Men Engage Network, I commend your focus on the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 and the promotion of the role of women in peace and security. Nationally, we have identified as a priority, the need to increase the number of women mediating and meaningfully participating in peace processes. It is well known that this meaningful participation of women brings more informed decision-making and more sustainable results on the ground. It is key to achieving durable peace.

Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict remains a top priority for the UK. Our aim is to tackle the stigma endured by survivors of sexual violence, secure justice for survivors and shatter the culture of impunity by bringing those responsible to account, as well as strengthen efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict.

We also appreciate your planned focus on combating violence against women. A society where individuals enjoy the same opportunities, rights, obligations and security regardless of their gender should not only be an aspiration. We should all take tangible steps to achieve this.

We wish the CiO and the excellent team in Tirana the very best in the important year ahead in the OSCE. You can be assured of the UK’s support.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 09/01/2020.

Statement by Ambassador James Roscoe at the Security Council briefing on UNOWAS.

May I join others in welcoming you to the chair and welcoming you and your other co-elected members of the Council. We look forward to working with you.

In the context of this briefing, we also welcome particularly the delegation in Niger. We know from last month that you have suffered first hand the consequences of violence in the region. You have our condolences for the losses to your armed forces.

It’s also very good to see SRSG Chambas back in the chamber to brief us. We welcome the very productive role that UNOWAS has played in the region. In particular, we welcome the role that you play, sir, through your good offices. People don’t always see the result of that work because it is, by its very nature, diplomatic and quiet. But we know it goes on and we know it makes a difference, so thank you to you and your team for that.

We’re also very grateful to the Secretariat and Secretary-General for their report on the trends in the region. As others have said, these continue to be of significant concern, particularly on the security side, but also on the humanitarian side. Because the security side is so bleak, the impact on the broader development opportunities in the region are also very affected.

We wanted to cover three areas today. The first is security and to talk about that in a little bit more detail. The second is elections, and we’ve heard a bit about that already today. And the third is to focus on the underlying causes of conflict and what we can do to address those once the security situation is addressed.

On the security and humanitarian side, as I said, we’re continuing to be concerned about the damaging cycles of violence that we’re seeing. And I think, Mr Chambas, you called them “unprecedented” and the spike between the year before last and what we saw last year was exponential. So a real cause for concern, particularly the deterioration in central Mali, an area where we’re separately sees this council, and northern Burkina Faso, since the last report.

The increased violence is exacerbating an already perilous humanitarian situation, particularly in central Mali and Burkina Faso. The UK has just released a further 20 million pounds in additional humanitarian funding in the Sahel on top of the 50 million pounds we’re already spending to help address this situation. I think we all need to think again about whether we’re doing enough in this region to look at the humanitarian situation.

It’s also worth just noting, as others have said, that we also need to ensure and states in the region need to ensure humanitarian access for those who do deliver that humanitarian response. We need to ensure that they’re able to get to the regions they need to and given the protection they need, both legally and in security terms.

I think the main point is that security needs to be this council’s principal focus. We cannot help those who urgently need assistance unless we can help the states that they are in to bring the security situation there under control.

Like many others in this chamber, we heard the African Union talk in the middle of December, when we last touched on this issue, about the variety of regional initiatives that we now have on the security front. And I wonder if one thing that this council might want to consider is whether we can help bring some coherence, to those to look at how we map those, look at whether the current issues we have are addressing the concerns that we have, whether they’re duplicative or complementary. So, I just think that’s something we can consider in due course in line with the African Union advice.

Turning now to elections, again, I think it’s useful to hear that there has been progress in the region and there are some upsides over the last year on the political front and on the election front. We agree with the emphasis, Mr Chambas, you’re placing on helping states deliver credible elections over this next period. And from our perspective, freedom of assembly and expression are essential to that, so we hope in particular you will send that message to states in the region. But in the context of the deteriorating security situation we’ve already touched on, we have to help states avoid these elections becoming flash points of violence or enabling abuses of power, as this will only exacerbate conflicts and violence further. Citizens must be able to exercise their democratic rights to votes without fear of intimidation or retribution. We stand ready to do what we can with your advice to support those.

In terms of the underlying causes, the immediate humanitarian and security efforts to support the elections and the wider region are obviously critical, but we must also do what we can to address the root causes of these conflicts and violence. And I think one of the interesting things that we see in the report is that, in the countries themselves, there is a growing recognition of the need to address those underlying issues, but it’s very difficult to do so in the absence of proper security that states can do something. They can work to address long-term governance issues by reducing abuses by security forces. We can help governments to build their legitimacy by providing inclusive and accountable basic services where they’re able to do so – and that’s something I think we should give more focus on. And it’s good to see the report looking at giving UNOWAS the ability to help the UN in the region to think about the development assistance that it can provide when it can provide it. These kind of interventions will help build the foundations for stability that the region so desperately needs.

So, Mr Chambas, we thank you, we thank your team. This is an incredibly important region and you have a challenging year ahead, but you have our full support.

Thank you.