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The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 December 2023.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Transnational Organised Crime.

Thank you, President, and thank you for calling this valuable, Open Debate. I also thank the Secretary-General and our other distinguished and thought-provoking briefers this morning.

The United Kingdom agrees with the Secretary-General that we can deepen cooperation to tackle the complex threat of Transnational Organised Crime and find global solutions to it.

The UK is pleased to be working with the Ecuadorian Government and with many other governments across the world in these efforts.

I would like to stress three points.

First, as we’ve heard, the impact of organised crime globally is significant. Organised criminal networks are exacerbating conflict, instability and the negative effect of climate change around the globe, taking advantage of geopolitical, economic and technological shifts.

Organised crime, corruption and illicit finance drain resources and undermine societies. Online threats including cybercrime, fraud and new technologies such as AI are exacerbating these risks.

Second, without the security that comes from effectively tackling Transnational Organised Crime, economic development, state-building and poverty reduction is really not possible. Crime and gender considerations should be incorporated into development and security approaches.

Traditional law enforcement should be combined with wider efforts to address the drivers of crime, for example, poor governance or poverty, to address the enablers of crime, for example, illicit finance or corruption, and to address the harms that crime produces, including by protecting victims and returning assets.

The United Kingdom is committed to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and the UNODC. We funded the development of an UNODC Organised Crime Strategy Toolkit to help Member States develop their own national organised crime strategies. We are pleased that many countries are using the toolkit.

Finally, President, we welcome the efforts by the UN and other organisations to adapt to the escalating challenges and better coordinate with wider security, development and economic work including alongside the private sector and civil society. The Council and the wider UN can provide further leadership on this and support its acceleration.

The United Kingdom fully supports both the Women and Youth, Peace and Security agendas to help build community resilience and reduce recruitment into organised crime groups.

President, in closing, thank you for this debate, and we remain committed to working together to fight and prevent Transnational Organised Crime.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 December 2023.

The UK condemns Russia’s sustained attempts at political interference in the UK and globally.

• the KGB’s successor agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB) is behind sustained unsuccessful attempts to interfere in UK political processes
• targets include politicians, civil servants, journalists, NGOs and other civil society organisations
• in response, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has sanctioned individuals involved in the group’s activity and summoned the Russian Ambassador

The UK and allies have today (December 7th) exposed a series of attempts by the Russian Intelligence Services to target high-profile individuals and entities through cyber operations. The UK Government judges that this was done with the intent to use information obtained to interfere in UK politics and democratic processes.

Centre 18, a unit within Russia’s Intelligence Services, the FSB, has been identified as being accountable for a range of cyber espionage operations targeting the UK.

The activity was in turn conducted by Star Blizzard; a group that the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ – assesses is almost certainly subordinate to FSB Centre 18.

While some attacks resulted in documents being leaked, attempts to interfere with UK politics and democracy have not been successful.

Star Blizzard is also commonly known as Callisto Group, SEABORGIUM or COLDRIVER and is operated by FSB officers. The group has also selectively leaked and amplified the release of information in line with Russian confrontation goals, including to undermine trust in politics in the UK and likeminded states.

In particular, the UK has identified the FSB – through the activity conducted by Star Blizzard – as being involved in the following:

• targeting, including spear-phishing, of parliamentarians from multiple political parties, from at least 2015 through to this year.
• the hack of UK-US trade documents that were leaked ahead of the 2019 General Election – previously attributed to the Russian state via Written Ministerial Statement in 2020.
• the 2018 hack of the Institute for Statecraft, a UK thinktank whose work included initiatives to defend democracy against disinformation, and the more recent hack of its founder Christopher Donnelly, whose account was compromised from December 2021; in both instances documents were subsequently leaked.
• targeting of universities, journalists, public sector, non-government organisations and other civil society organisations, many of whom play a key role in UK democracy

Following a National Crime Agency investigation, the UK has today sanctioned two members of Star Blizzard for their involvement in the preparation of spear-phishing campaigns and associated activity that resulted in unauthorised access and exfiltration of sensitive data, which was intended to undermine UK organisations and more broadly, the UK government.

These sanctions have been delivered jointly with the US, and are the latest in our bilateral efforts to counter Russian malicious cyber activity that seeks to undermine our, and our allies’, integrity and prosperity. The US Department of Justice have concurrently unsealed indictments against the individuals designated today.

The individuals being designated in the UK and US are:

• Ruslan Aleksandrovich PERETYATKO, who is a Russian FSB intelligence officer and a member of Star Blizzard AKA the Callisto Group
• Andrey Stanislavovich KORINETS, AKA Alexey DOGUZHIEV, who is a member of Star Blizzard AKA the Callisto Group

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also summoned the Russian Ambassador to express the UK’s deep concern about Russia’s sustained attempts to use cyber to interfere in political and democratic processes in the UK and beyond.

In a statement to the House earlier today the Minister for Europe Leo Docherty emphasised that attempts to interfere with UK politics and democracy have not been successful. However, it is likely that Russia and other adversaries will continue to make attempts to use cyber means to interfere in UK politics. The NCSC alongside the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada will today publish a cyber security advisory to inform network defenders of how to mitigate this activity, and NCSC will publish guidance for high-risk individuals whilst providing further information around support available.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said:

Russia’s attempts to interfere in UK politics are completely unacceptable and seek to threaten our democratic processes.

Despite their repeated efforts, they have failed.

In sanctioning those responsible and summoning the Russian Ambassador today, we are exposing their malign attempts at influence and shining a light on yet another example of how Russia chooses to operate on the global stage.

We will continue to work together with our allies to expose Russian covert cyber activity and hold Russia to account for its actions.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said:

As I warned earlier this year, state actors, and the ‘Wagner-style’ sub-state hackers they use to do their dirty work, will continue to target our public institutions and our democratic processes.

We will continue to call this activity out, to raise our defences, and to take action against the perpetrators.

Online is the new frontline. We are taking a whole of society approach to ensuring we have the robust systems and cutting-edge skills needed to resist these attempts to undermine our democracy.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said:

An attack against our democratic institutions is an attack on our most fundamental British values and freedoms. The UK will not tolerate foreign interference and through the National Security Act, we are making the UK a harder operating environment for those seeking to interfere in our democratic institutions.

The activity announced today is part of a broader pattern of malign cyber activity conducted by the Russian Intelligence Services across the globe. In recent years the UK and allies have exposed Russian Intelligence for their role in ViaSat, SolarWinds, and targeting of Critical National Infrastructure. In May, the NCSC alongside Five Eye partners exposed a sophisticated cyberespionage tool designed and used by Centre 16 of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for long-term intelligence collection on sensitive targets.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 December 2023.

On behalf of the UK and Canada, Ambassador Neil Holland welcomes the ongoing work of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and urges him to continue this vital work.

Thank you, Mr Chair. I’m delivering this statement on behalf of the UK and Canada. Welcome, High Commissioner, dear Kairat, back to the Permanent Council. Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the High Commissioner on National Minorities and for the extension of your appointment for a further 9 months. We thank you once again for your willingness to continue this important role at such a late stage. As we said during last week’s Ministerial Council, it’s regretful that this extension is shorter than ideal, but had to be accepted as an exceptional, temporary measure.

High Commissioner, thank you for updating us today on your report and for your address. We are grateful for the range of efforts undertaken by your Office, including your visits to, and dialogues with, many participating States. We support your mandate and your team’s work in promoting human rights for all, including those belonging to national minorities across the OSCE region. This is a crucial part of sustainable security, a vital aspect of conflict prevention and early warning, and a key element of peaceful resolution.

Your report sets out that Ukraine remains at the top of your agenda.  We welcome that and urge you to continue to prioritise this work. Civilians in Ukraine must be protected, including national minorities. Let us not forget that, at the same time as having to fight a war, Ukraine has made – and is making – progress on inclusivity and diversity. We echo your calls for a peaceful resolution to the war which must be in line with the principles of the UN Charter, and for the protection of all national minorities in the region. The best way to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all people in Ukraine including minorities, is for Russia to withdraw its troops from the whole of Ukraine.

Russia must respect international law, and that includes minority rights, outside of and inside Russia. Ethnic minorities within Russia have been disproportionately targeted by mobilisation.

Russia must cooperate and grant access to your team to areas temporarily under its control.

Russia must respect the rights of minority groups. And we deplore Russia’s attempts to undermine Ukrainian identity in the four oblasts it illegally claims to have annexed, as well as its targeting of Crimean Tatars in illegally annexed Crimea.

We appreciate your work across the OSCE region including in Albania, Moldova, Central Asia and Northern Europe, and the continued cooperation between participating States and your office. We welcome your assistance to Georgia, particularly in the face of continued Russian hybrid aggression.

We would particularly like to commend and draw attention to the following areas of your work:

• your support on multilingual education and with national minority youth.
• your thematic work including alongside ODIHR to address statelessness.
• the attention you have given to the intersectionality of gender and national minorities, and your acknowledgment that women with a minority background face unique and multiple challenges.
• women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in all aspects of public life, including in peace and security.

And on this last area, we were pleased to hear that you continue to explore these issues including through research, discussions, and engagements. We would encourage further work in this area and look forward to hearing reports of future progress on this topic.

In conclusion, High Commissioner, we are strong supporters of your institution and your work. We wish you and your team all the best over the coming months. Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 December 2023.

Ambassador Neil Holland welcomes the address by the Personal Representatives, and underlines the UK’s commitment to defending freedom of religion or belief.

Rabbi Baker and Dr Polack, welcome back to the Permanent Council, and thank you for your statements.

The UK remains committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Protecting and promoting these freedoms is one of the UK’s longstanding human rights commitments, and is at the heart of our shared OSCE principles.

Hand-in-hand with any commitment to protecting freedom of religion or belief must come a commitment to tackling intolerance, discrimination, and hatred – not only on the basis of religion or belief, but in all of its repugnant forms. Our ‘Inclusive Britain’ action plan supports us in doing this through its three-pronged approach of boosting confidence in our institutions, advancing equality of opportunity, and fostering greater belonging.

One of the greatest challenges we currently face on this front is the chilling and unprecedented rise in antisemitism that we are witnessing across the world. Sadly, hate crime has surged globally since the barbaric attacks against Israeli civilians by Hamas on 7 October. That one of the many terrible consequences of this attack has been a wave of antisemitism is baffling and deplorable.

The UK is clear: antisemitism is evil and has no place in our – or any – society. We stand with the Jewish community, and we will never waiver in our fight against the scourge of antisemitism. The UK Government is proud to have been the first country to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in 2016.

In tandem with our work to tackle antisemitism, the UK is committed to international co-operation to promote education, remembrance, and research about the Holocaust. As one of the founding signatories of the Stockholm Declaration, we pledged that the terrible events of the Holocaust would remain forever seared in our collective memory.

The UK has the privilege of taking on the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in March 2024. The theme of our presidency will be “In Plain Sight”, drawing attention to the fact that the Holocaust did not happen unseen. It will highlight the nature of society that allowed the murder of six million Jewish men, women and children, shine a spotlight on all of those who had a part to play, and explore the circumstances that led to the Holocaust.

We will focus on promoting remembrance of the Holocaust and safeguarding the narrative for future generations. In particular, we hope to reach thousands of young people across the IHRA’s member states during our presidency, and help them to learn and understand the truth about the terrible atrocities that took place in their hometowns.

We must also recognise and address the continued rise of Holocaust distortion and the impact of new technologies upon it. During our presidency and in cooperation with the OSCE, we will bring together a range of experts – from fields including AI and social media. We will explore how to tackle distortion, including how to counter the threats posed by deepfake technology and disinformation online.

As you have both made clear, the consequences of intolerance, discrimination and hatred are all too evident.  Our OSCE commitments provide us with the tools we need.  We must, together, tackle this scourge, and promote inclusive societies that respect freedom of religion or belief.

Thank you, Rabbi Baker and Dr Polack for being with us today and for all your work over the year.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 December 2023.

Ambassador Neil Holland says that the UK and partners will stand alongside Ukraine to protect its future, as well as protecting the OSCE.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Since Russia’s illegal and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 the UK has pledged to use this forum to support our Ukrainian friends and colleagues and to hold Russia to account for its actions. Indeed, at last week’s Ministerial Council, my Foreign Secretary said, that this organisation plays a key role in doing both of these. So, each week, we call out Russia’s complete disregard for the OSCE’s founding principles, as shown through its assault on Ukrainian territorial integrity and Ukrainian life.

Russia claims to defend the consensus principle. And yet it is all but isolated in this forum (and others) on a regular and sustained basis. We have seen decision after decision subjected to attack through the need to find consensus. This is the abuse of a tool that was designed for use by participating States that shared a common wish to find solutions. That is clearly not the case now.  So, we have to conclude that this insistence on consensus – against the overwhelming weight of opinion on many different subjects is not actually a defence of the principle but actually a defence of obstructionism.

Last week at the Ministerial Council we saw the latest example of this dynamic. In Skopje, there was a broad consensus across the community in condemning Russia’s actions and underlining unwavering support to Ukraine. This was not a terrible conspiracy by the so-called ‘collective west’.  It was a simple and widely expressed disapproval of what Russia has done by invading its neighbour and upending its commitments to the Helsinki principles.

The encouraging news is that the international community remains united behind Ukraine. On 23 February 2023, 141 UN members voted to demand that Russia withdraw its troops. 29 countries have now signed a Joint Declaration pledging to negotiate long-term security commitments with Ukraine, to help to sustain its ability to defend itself.

The UK is rolling out sanctions against Russia in lockstep with our partners. Alongside substantial packages of bilateral support for Ukraine, the international community has come together to provide humanitarian support to Ukraine through the international system response, coordinated by the UN, Red Cross movement and NGOs. This again underlines the unified response in support for Ukraine and brings Russia’s isolation into relief.

The UK and the international community stand against Russia’s aggression. The UK will continue to join the vast majority of states here in continuing to support Ukraine’s freedom and sovereignty. We will not be deterred or lose interest. Now is not the time to falter. Ukraine can and must win this war.

Mr Chair, the UK will stand alongside Ukraine to protect its future. The UK will also continue to protect the OSCE, standing alongside participating States and colleagues to ensure that the consensus principle is not abused. Thank you.