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  • PRESS RELEASE : Statement at the open debate on women, peace and security [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Statement at the open debate on women, peace and security [March 2023]

    The press release issued by Foreign Office on 7 March 2023.

    Statement by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon at the UN Security Council open debate on women, peace and security.

    May I begin by first thanking you Madam President, and thanking Mozambique for taking the lead in our important and vital discussions today and setting our sights on the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325. And in doing so, I join others in recognising the insightful, valuable and expert contributions of Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women; Mirjana Egger of the ICRC; my dear friend who I see on screen, Madame Diop, it’s always great to see you and hear from you as well; and of course, the inspirational Leymah Gbowee for their contributions.

    Madam President, colleagues, your Excellencies. Peace and security mechanisms must be built upon the needs of everyone, of all people, everywhere. And they must be shaped by the voices of all people. Indeed, those were the founding principles of the very organisation in which we sit today, the United Nations.

    This Council, this Security Council, knows that mediation, conflict prevention and resolution have proven more successful time and time again when they are inclusive. They work better. They last longer when women are central to peace and building progressive societies. The evidence is there staring us in the face. Yet it is an undeniable fact. Here we sit in 2023 and we are seeing tragically, a stagnation of the women, peace and security agenda and a regression in women’s rights around the world. As we were most notably reminded, it’s not just through the barrel of a gun, but as Ms. Lema Govey reminded us, it is a shared denial of women’s rights, be they economic, social or educational.

    We are seeing concerted efforts to weaponise gender and attempts to weaken the international system and destabilise the principles and fundamentals of democracies around the world. For our part, the United Kingdom resolves to not just protect, but to strengthen gender equality. And this should remain an absolute commitment for us all. I therefore call upon colleagues and nations here to stand together against the rollback of fundamental human rights, when the rights of women and girls are pivotal and central to a society’s and country’s progress and prosper.

    The United Kingdom is therefore committed and we are passionate to see and ensure progress on women, peace and security in all its aspects. I was delighted that only last month we launched our fifth National Action Plan, which sets out how we will ensure that we put women at the centre of conflict resolution peacebuilding programmes over the next five years. It is a new plan, a reinvigorated plan for a new global context. Colleagues have listed the tragedies of conflicts around the world – from the suppression of the rights of women in Iran and the tragedy of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, where we’ve seen the Taliban’s suppression of the rights of women and girls using the false narrative and the erroneous narrative of trying to justify their abhorrent actions through religion and culture.

    Let us be absolutely clear in what we say.

    There is no religion, no culture which calls for the suppression of women’s rights.

    The Taliban should realise this – face up to the reality – that it is only their country’s progress will be guaranteed when the rights of women and girls are secured in all their elements.

    We also see the suppression through conflict of the rights, through the tragedy of war. The rights of women. The weaponising of rape as a weapon of war in conflict such as Ukraine. The war on Ukraine continues.

    The rights of women continue to be suppressed in other areas, such as Tigray and Yemen, where conflicts continue. We also see the regression of women’s rights, but therefore it is important. We also recognise, as we are doing at this CSW, that these threats are not just limited in country.

    There are transnational threats such as climate and cyber as well. But it is not only our commitment overseas, we are embedding the same principles of ensuring women are central and pivotal to all the solution, every facet of society in our democratic domestic systems, military cooperation and international diplomacy.

    Frankly, every country that talks this narrative together, we need to walk the walk if we want to make genuine progress by 2025. One of the key objectives of our new plan is to prevent gender based violence, including conflict related sexual violence, and importantly, to support incredible, courageous survivors to recover and seek justice to rebuild their lives.

    As the UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, I was honoured and humbled to host our recent conference back in November, which demonstrated a sustained international resolve to end these heinous crimes.

    We saw 53 countries come together and the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Pramila Patten, signed the political declaration. 40 countries made tangible national commitments on steps they intended to take. The truth is, it’s a fundamental fact, a tragic fact, that in 2023, sexual violence in conflict is real. It is happening. Therefore, I was delighted my dear friend and colleague, the UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced a new three year PSVI (Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict) Strategy backed by over £12 million of new funding to build accountability and justice around the world. And looking ahead, it is important that we hold ourselves to account through the new International Alliance, which I’m delighted to announce on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, which will bring together leading Member States.

    And I’m delighted that we are also joined at the Security Council by my dear friend, the Deputy Minister from Colombia, who again, as we were reminded by the Minister from Ecuador, had made great strides on this important agenda.

    And therefore, I call upon all nations here, present and colleagues join us, join us together in strengthening this alliance to ensure that those incredible courageous survivors of sexual violence are not just given a voice, but are pivotal and central in building our international strategy to ensure that we prevent sexual violence in conflict.

    We ensure that accountability is inherent and that we fully engage with survivor voices.

    I ask governments to embed survivor voices in their own peacebuilding systems. We’ll be glad to share our experiences. And for me personally, through working with these incredible survivors, it has demonstrated that through their direct input, their direct action, our policies and programmes are directly impacted in a most positive way, enriched by their experience and their valuable advice and courage in speaking out.

    Colleagues, Madam President.

    23 years on from Resolution 1325, we must not resolve just to stabilise and strengthen rights. We should work to ensure that we put women at the heart of every conflict resolution. We put women at the heart of building stability and security around the world.

    Let us not look back in another 23 years to say that we squandered the opportunity. Indeed, I know we will not. We owe it to those who have suffered in the past, to those women and girls who are suffering today.

    We must not let this incredible opportunity pass us by.

    And to all the incredible women and girls around the world who suffer at the hands of repressive, regressive regimes, we must act. We must act now.

    Simply put, it is our duty. It is our obligation. Thank you, Madam President.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2023 Speech on Asylum and Migration Changes

    Rishi Sunak – 2023 Speech on Asylum and Migration Changes

    The speech made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, at Downing Street in London on 7 March 2023.

    Today we are introducing new legislation to keep my promise to you – to stop the boats.

    My policy is very simple, it is this country—and your government—who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.

    The first step is understanding the nature—and scale—of what we are dealing with.

    The number of people entering the UK illegally in small boats has more than quadrupled in the last two years.

    Those illegally crossing the Channel are not directly fleeing a war-torn country… or persecution… or an imminent threat to life.

    They have travelled through safe, European countries.

    They are paying people smugglers huge sums to make this dangerous, and sometimes tragic, journey.

    The reason that criminal gangs continue to bring small boats over here is because they know that our system can be exploited…

    ….that once here…illegal migrants can make a multitude of asylum, modern slavery and spurious human rights claims to frustrate their removal.

    And the risk remains that those individuals just disappear into the black economy.

    That is the reality we must deal with…

    And with 100 million people displaced around the world…

    ….if we do not deal with it now, the situation will just get worse and worse.

    People must know that if they come here illegally it will result in their detention and swift removal.

    Once this happens – and they know it will happen – they will not come, and the boats will stop.

    That is why today we are introducing legislation to make clear that if you come here illegally you can’t claim asylum…

    …you can’t benefit from our modern slavery protections…

    ….you can’t make spurious human rights claims

    …and you can’t stay.

    We will detain those who come here illegally and then remove them in weeks, either to their own country if it is safe to do so, or to a safe third country like Rwanda.

    And once you are removed, you will be banned—as you are in America and Australia—from ever re-entering our country.

    This is how we will break the business model of the people smugglers; this is how we will take back control of our borders.

    Now, this Bill provides the legal framework needed to deliver this in a way that no other legislation has done before.

    This is tough but it is necessary and it is fair.

    This legislation will be retrospective.

    If you come on a small boat today, the measures in this bill will apply to you.

    And this is just part of what we are doing.

    I’ve always been clear this is a complex problem that can’t be solved overnight and will require us to use every tool at our disposal.

    That’s why I’ve already secured the largest ever small boats deal with France.

    And patrols on French beaches are already up 40 per cent.

    I also promised progress on enforcement and we’ve increased raids on illegal working by 50 per cent.

    I’ve also negotiated a new deal with Albania, which accounted for a third of all small boats arrivals.

    And that’s already delivering. We’ve returned 500 illegal migrants to Albania and we are seeing far fewer come as a result.

    This shows that there is nothing inevitable about illegal migration.

    Deterrence works, and with will and determination, the government can get on top of it—and we will.

    Now, this will always be a compassionate and generous country.

    It is something that we’re all rightly proud of.

    Just look at how we have welcomed Ukrainians, Syrians from refugee camps, and embraced Hong Kongers fleeing the Chinese clampdown.

    But the current situation is neither moral nor sustainable. It cannot go on.

    It’s completely unfair on the British people…

    ….who have opened their homes to genuine refugees…

    ….but are now having to spend nearly £6 million a day to put up illegal migrants in hotels.

    It’s unfair on the people who have come to this country legally to see others skipping the queue.

    And it’s devastatingly unfair on those who most need our help but can’t get it as our asylum system is being overwhelmed by those travelling illegally across the Channel.

    If we can’t stop the boats, our ability to help genuine refugees in future will be constrained.

    Full control of our borders will allow us to decide who to help, and to provide safe and legal routes for those most in need.

    I understand there will be debate about the toughness of these measures… all I can say is that we have tried it every other way… and it has not worked.

    So I say again: my policy is very simple, it is this country—and your government—who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.

    And I will do whatever is necessary to achieve that.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC52 – UK Statement for Item 2 General Debate [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC52 – UK Statement for Item 2 General Debate [March 2023]

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

    Statement delivered by the UK’s Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Simon Manley, for Item 2 General Debate.

    High Commissioner,

    As your oral update made clear, as Ukraine enters its second year under Russian attack, the human rights situation continues to deteriorate. And the Commission of Inquiry and your Monitoring Mission play an invaluable role in revealing the extent of the brutality being inflicted on the Ukrainian people.

    There is, of course, a simple way for that brutality to end.  End the war, President Putin.

    It is also clear that Russian aggression abroad is enabled by repression at home: civil society organisations are banned, tens of thousands of anti-war protesters jailed.  So, there is a simple way to end that too. End the repression, President Putin.

    High Commissioner,

    Last year, your office provided compelling evidence of China’s serious human rights violations in Xinjiang. In December, 15 distinguished UN experts set out clear recommendations necessary for China to fulfil its international obligations in Xinjiang. And last month, UN Special Rapporteurs expressed alarm at China’s efforts to forcibly assimilate Tibetan identity. These concerns are well-evidenced and widely shared by the international community. We urge the Chinese Government to stop denying the facts, and engage seriously and constructively with these recommendations.

    Let me pay tribute to you High Commissioner for visiting Haiti and shining a light on human rights abuses there, including abductions and sexual violence, enabled by rising lawlessness.

    In South Sudan, tragically, violence has killed hundreds, displaced tens of thousands, and been accompanied by the most appalling acts of sexual and gender-based violence. That is why the role of the Commission on Human Rights is so important in documenting these violations and abuses.

    Just last week, we pledged another $100m of humanitarian assistance to Yemen. That assistance is vital. But it is insufficient, unless accompanied by progress towards a political solution and respect for the human rights – not least the rights of women and children.

    Last but not least, we call on both Israel and the Palestinians to take steps to de-escalate, combat terror, and end settler violence; violence and instability has only led to a tragic increase in loss of life in 2022 and the first months of 2023. The people of Israel and the OPTs deserve a better, safer future. We remain committed to a two-state solution that protects the peace and security of both Israelis and Palestinians.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : New laws to stop the boats [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : New laws to stop the boats [March 2023]

    The press release issued by the Home Office on 7 March 2023.

    Laws include legal duty on the Home Secretary to remove anyone who enters the UK illegally.

    Earlier this year the Prime Minister made stopping the boats one of his 5 promises to the British people. The ‘Stop the Boats’ – or Illegal Migration – Bill will fulfil that promise by ending illegal entry as a route to asylum in the UK.

    This will remove the incentive for people to risk their lives through these dangerous and unnecessary journeys and pull the rug from under the criminal gangs profiting from this misery once and for all.

    People who arrive in the UK illegally will instead be detained and swiftly removed to their home country if safe, or another safe third country, such as Rwanda, where they will be supported to rebuild their lives.

    Anyone illegally entering the UK will be prevented from accessing the UK’s world-leading modern slavery support or abusing these laws to block their removal. Any other challenges or human rights claims can also only be heard after removal, remotely.

    By ending illegal immigration as a route to asylum, stopping the boats and taking back control of our borders the Bill will ensure the UK can better support people coming through fair, safe and legal routes.

    The UK will always be a compassionate country, as demonstrated by the nation opening its hearts and homes to those from fleeing from Afghanistan and Ukraine, and under this Bill, Parliament will set an annual cap on the number of refugees settled via safe and legal routes, taking into account local authority capacity for housing, public services and the support communities rightly expect.

    Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

    The British people rightly expect us to solve this crisis and that’s what myself and the Prime Minister fully intend to do. We must stop the boats.

    It is completely unfair that people who travel through a string of safe countries then come to the UK illegally and abuse our asylum laws to avoid removal.

    It has to stop. By bringing in new laws, I am making it absolutely clear that the only route to the UK is a safe and legal route. If you come here illegally, you won’t be able to claim asylum or build a life here.

    You will not be allowed to stay. You will be returned home if safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. It’s the only way to prevent people risking their lives and paying criminals thousands of pounds to get here.

    The Bill, introduced to Parliament today (7 March 2023), will mean anyone who enters the UK illegally and who has passed through a safe country will be legally required to be removed and the Home Secretary will have the power to enforce it.

    Migrants may be detained for 28 days with no recourse for bail or judicial review, and then for as long as there is a reasonable prospect of removal.

    In exceptional circumstances if there is a risk that someone would suffer a real risk of serious and irreversible harm when they are relocated to that specific safe third country, they would not be removed until it was safe to do so. Even in these cases you will have a maximum 45 days to remain in the UK before your appeal is exhausted.

    The annual number settled via safe and legal routes will be kept under review, and if there is a humanitarian crisis within the world that requires a response, then the UK will step up and offer sanctuary to those in need, as we have done for tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Afghans.

    The Bill forms part of the action the government is taking to stop small boat crossings and illegal migration as a whole.

    This includes:

    • an agreement with Albania that recognises their status as a safe country
    • a new dedicated unit to speed up the processing of Albanian cases – since the announcement in December we have returned over 3000 illegal migrants, including over 500 Albanians
    • ending the legacy backlog of asylum claims by the end of 2023 – we have already doubled decision makers and we will double the number again and we are changing the system to make it more productive
    • reducing the use of hotels, with the government currently spending £6.2 million a day, by moving asylum seekers to cheaper alternative accommodation
    • established the Small Boats Operational Command in December, enabling us from January to protect the resources of our Immigration Enforcement teams – as a direct result of this change, we have been able to significantly increase the numbers of immigration enforcement visits undertaken, deliver a 50% uplift in enforcement visits per month and have seen a corresponding increase in arrests
    • doubling the funding for Operation Invigor, which brings together the NCA, Home Office Intelligence and UK policing to disrupt organised crime groups who are smuggling people from source countries to the beaches of northern France
    • our joint work with France saw nearly 33,000 Channel crossings prevented in 2022, compared to just over 23,000 in 2021 – since the UK-France Joint Intelligence Cell (JIC) was established in July 2020, 59 organised criminal groups involved in small boats crossings
    • clamping down on people smugglers, with over 350 arrests made since the Nationality and Borders Act became law
    • welcoming current collaboration with the French to tackle illegal migration, which includes agreeing further action at the UK/FR Leaders’ Summit

    Summary of Bill measures:

    • Duty to make arrangements for removal – the Home Secretary will have a legal duty to remove people who have entered the UK illegally.
    • Detention and bail – strengthening detention powers so people can only apply for bail from the Courts (First-tier Tribunal) after 28 days (although habeus corpus will remain).
    • Unaccompanied children – minors who come to the UK illegally will not be removed to a safe third country until adulthood, except in limited circumstances.
    • Entry, citizenship and settlement – people who come to the UK illegally will be prevented from settling in the country and will face a permanent ban from returning.
    • Asylum – people who come here illegally will have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible and considered in a safe third country.
    • Modern slavery – modern slavery referrals for those who come to the UK illegally will be disqualified under public order grounds under the terms of the international anti-trafficking treaty, ECAT.
    • Legal proceedings – limiting the circumstances in which legal challenges will prevent someone from being removed from the UK. Most legal challenges will be considered when someone has been successfully removed from the UK.
    • Expanding the list of countries that are considered safe in law – this will make it unquestionably clear when someone doesn’t need our protection because they are obviously not at risk of persecution in their home country.
    • Annual number of people using safe and legal routes – committing to resettling a specific number of refugees in the UK every year.
  • Andrew Mitchell – 2023 Speech at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

    Andrew Mitchell – 2023 Speech at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

    The speech made by Andrew Mitchell, the Minister for Development, in London on 7 March 2023.

    Your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

    Salaam-Alaikum.

    I’m very proud and honoured to be connected to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies under its inspirational leader Farhan and also under His Highness Prince Turki who contributes so brilliantly to the leadership of the Oxford Centre. And I hope you will accept this salutation, especially as it comes from a Cambridge man.

    We live in extraordinary times. We are safer, richer and longer-living than at any time in our history but we also face existential threats, from climate change to pandemics and from devastating weapons to cyber attacks.

    Thirty years of incredible human progress between 1990 and 2020 is now sharply in reverse, partly because of the Covid pandemic, and other events too like the illegal invasion of Ukraine and what it has done to the food chain and what it has done to inflation in very poor countries, mean that all the dials which were moving forward so successfully are now in reverse and we have to do something about that.

    On my visit to Turkey last month, where the UK is delivering lifesaving support following the devastating earthquakes, I witnessed just how swiftly and tragically these things can change.

    We must meet these challenges head on, for the sake of future generations, and collaboration is central to this.

    Sir Isaac Newton spoke of standing on the shoulders of giants, and in our collective history we have made startling progress through shared learning and co-operation on science and technology.

    In the early medieval period, the extraordinary intellectual flowering of the Islamic world helped shape the scientific landscape we know today. And we heard some examples of that earlier this afternoon.

    Institutions like the Bayt al Hikma (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad, and its counterparts in Damascus, Cairo and Fez, translated texts from Greece, Rome, India, Persia and beyond.

    They brought startling insights and discoveries that radically changed our understanding of everything from maths to medicine, physics to optics, astronomy to the natural world.

    Through the multi-faith, multi-ethnic courts of Palermo, Toledo and Cordoba, these ideas catalysed the European Renaissance.

    The challenges we face today call for a similar spirit of curiosity and collaboration.

    As with the past, we now look to a future of partnership with the Islamic world, with opportunities from the grassroots to the global level.

    Indeed, as two major global aid donors, I look forward to welcoming our Saudi friends to London next week for the inaugural annual high-level aid dialogue.

    Together, we will identify new opportunities for collaboration to respond to rising development and humanitarian needs.

    I turn now to our approach in the United Kingdom.

    Over the last 25 years in particular, the United Kingdom has invested hugely in supporting our partners to improve education, health and the environment, from Afghanistan to Nigeria, and from Bangladesh to the Gambia.

    Many tens of thousands of Muslim students have studied in the UK through our Chevening and British Council scholarships, returning to enrich their communities with what they have learnt.

    And two weeks ago I was in Jordan where I saw first-hand how UK support helps 150,000 children a year to receive a quality education.

    But it is clear that traditional models of cooperation, aid and development will no longer meet the needs of the modern world.

    Today I would like to talk about our vision for the years to come, a vision in which our friends from across the Muslim world play a vital role.

    One that places science and technology at the heart of our work, with all the benefits this brings to both prosperity and to security.

    A vision that couples strength with resilience, boosting our defences and enhancing our response to climate change and global health threats.

    When it comes to climate change, we must of course act together, with the greatest urgency.

    We have already witnessed the devastating impacts across the planet, from scorching temperatures and dust storms across the Gulf, to fires in Algeria and devastating floods in Pakistan and Indonesia.

    On a visit recently to Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, I saw the startling effects that climate change has on food security, as they roll back the equivalent of 500 football pitches worth of agricultural land every single day

    As hosts of the COP27 and COP28 respectively, Egypt and the United Emirates have not only brought their leadership and networks to bear, but built upon the environmental stewardship so deeply embedded in Islam.

    We saw this back in 2015, when prominent scholars combined Islamic and scientific principles to draft the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change, calling on all nations to commit to net zero – and helping to lay the groundwork for the Paris Agreement.

    Six years later, Muslim faith leaders joined their counterparts from other religions in signing the ’Faith and Science Appeal for COP26’, together highlighting the important work Muslim leaders and their institutions can do to build a bridge between science and faith, and put commitments into action.

    For the United Kingdom, partnerships with Muslim countries play a vital role in our work to protect the planet and restore nature.

    One great example is our work with Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia to support renewables, green industry and clean transport, like electric buses to reduce the pollution and congestion in Amman.

    This is all backed with £25 million in UK climate finance.

    In Indonesia, our Just Energy Transition Partnership support is powering the transition away from fossil fuels and towards a green economy, unlocking billions in private finance for new infrastructure.

    I turn now to the issue of Public health.

    Beyond climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic has been another stark reminder that individual safety, national security and global prosperity are interconnected.

    All rely on healthy and productive societies – which we cannot achieve without strong and inclusive health systems.

    This is why the UK is at the forefront of work to achieve this, along with our global partners.

    The University of Oxford is working in close collaboration with other academic institutions, including the Zayed and Khalifa Universities in the UAE, supporting efforts to combat anti-microbial resistance and infectious diseases.

    In Yemen, the UK, working with UNICEF, has made pioneering use of satellite imagery to forecast cholera risks and thereby intervene quickly.

    And in January, I saw for myself the vital work being done on vaccines and tests for COVID and other deadly diseases at the world-class Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal, backed by UK funding and with support from companies in the UK and in the Republic of Korea.

    I returned from Senegal feeling energised and optimistic.

    I had seen first-hand the role research hubs are playing in partnership with organisations across the public and private sector, all working together to tackle today’s biggest global problems.

    I know friends in this room see this just as clearly, which is why so many of you are investing heavily in education, in science and in technology.

    We know it is critical to harness all the brainpower and expertise we have, right across society.

    Nowhere more so than in the technology sector, where solutions are so often found outside of government and often with philanthropists.

    That is why we are glad to see the developing partnership between the Qatar Foundation and Rolls-Royce, to advance work on climate technology in the UK and Qatar, where I was on Sunday, creating thousands of jobs and new opportunities for global investors.

    The problems of today’s world simply cannot be solved by money alone, so the answers lie in sharing scientific and technological expertise, and in investing in our business and trade networks in countries around the world, including many of our friends who are here in this magnificent room today.

    This is how we make the smartest investments and find the brightest and best people to come up with solutions, and this is how we address inequalities and promote opportunity.

    Allow me to share just two examples of projects the British Government is sponsoring with friends around the world.

    The first is the UK-Gulf Women in Cybersecurity Fellowship, where rising stars in the cyber world from Gulf countries are supporting positive female role models, promoting peer-to-peer learning and boosting collaboration on cyber between their countries and the United Kingdom.

    The second is in Pakistan, where the UK has linked up with Sehat Kehani, a women-led telemedicine platform, which provides health care for Afghan refugees and displaced people, especially girls and women.

    Not only does this platform use smart technology to help patients access the best possible care, it also provides employment for more than 5,000 female doctors.

    Examples like this just remind us how fast technology is changing – and how vital it is to harness its power, together with the power that comes from working in partnership.

    If I may conclude, your Excellencies this is why I am so excited by the potential of this new research venture, and delighted to celebrate its launch today.

    In a world that is not short of division, what better way to build bridges than through collaboration and cooperation?

    We have already made great progress together, and this project will find many more opportunities across health, science and technology opportunities to solve the huge challenges we face, and build a healthier, safer, more prosperous world for our children and grandchildren, my first of which is expected to enter this world in just nine weeks from now

    Thank you very much.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Strike action to affect travellers and goods entering the UK on 15 March [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Strike action to affect travellers and goods entering the UK on 15 March [March 2023]

    The press release issued by the Home Office on 7 March 2023.

    The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has announced Civil Service industrial action that will impact Border Force operations.

    Travellers who are planning to enter the UK on Wednesday 15 March 2023 may face longer wait times at border control.

    Check the latest travel advice with operators before you travel.

    Be patient and respect officers who are working to keep the UK border safe and secure for all travellers during strike action.

    We encourage eligible passengers to use eGates.

    Border Force strike proposed date and locations

    Dates:

    • 15 March
    • 16 March (until around 7am)

    Locations:

    The proposed strike action will impact international arrivals at all UK air and maritime ports, as well as those travelling to the UK from UK border controls in Calais, Dunkirk and Coquelles in Northern France.

    If you are travelling into the UK, be prepared for disruption and check before you travel.

    Our first priority is to keep our borders safe and secure. We will never compromise on this.

    Advice for people entering the UK

    If you are travelling into the UK during the proposed industrial action, be prepared for longer wait times at UK border control.

    All passengers should check the latest advice from their operators before travelling.

    Please be patient and respect officers who are working to keep our citizens safe and border secure, and supporting travellers during the strike action.

    We encourage passengers who are eligible to use eGates to do so if these are available.

    Please respect staff as we try and get you through the border as quickly and safely as possible. All forms of abuse and any inappropriate behaviour will be reported to the police.

    Hauliers: impact of strike action

    If you are moving goods during the proposed strike action, be prepared for potential disruption and longer queues at ports and inland border facilities.

    Please check with your operator before travelling, be prepared for delays and carefully plan your movements if they coincide with days of strike action.

    Border wait times

    Accurate queue time data can take some time to gather and check. If you are travelling during the proposed strike dates, be prepared for longer wait times.

    Several factors can influence wait times, including high passenger numbers, flight delays and flight bunching. Weather delays and other incidents can also impact border control queues.

    We advise travellers to check with travel agents, tour operators, and airlines or carriers before travelling, to check if the proposed strike action will affect your journey.

    Passengers can also check airport websites before travelling to stay up to date with the latest information related to travel or possible delays caused by strike action.

    What we are doing to avoid disruption and queues at the border during the strike action

    We continue to work closely with industry to minimise disruption and delays at the border during any industrial action.

    Border Force and industry work together very closely at a local and national level to agree plans for pressures while keeping the public safe and ensuring critical goods such as medicines and food can continue to flow across the border.

    Military personnel, civil servants and volunteers from across government are being trained to support Border Force at airports and ports across the UK in the event of potential strike action. Border Force are ready to deploy resource to meet critical demand and support the flow of travellers and goods through the border. However, people entering the UK should be prepared for potential disruption.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister awards MND campaigner Rob Burrow the UK’s 2,000th Points of Light [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister awards MND campaigner Rob Burrow the UK’s 2,000th Points of Light [March 2023]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 7 March 2023.

    Rob Burrow MBE, the former Leeds Rhino and England Rugby League player who has passionately campaigned for people with Motor Neurone Disease, was yesterday named by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as the 2,000th recipient of the daily Points of Light award.

    Rob made nearly 500 appearances for the Leeds Rhinos between 2001 and 2017, winning eight Super League championships.

    Just two years after his retirement, he revealed a devastating diagnosis of MND in December 2019, but despite his physical decline Rob has raised awareness, including through a documentary with the BBC showing the impact of the disease on himself and his family.

    He has also inspired the creation of a Rob Burrow Day (7 July) led by Leeds Rhinos, and has been at the forefront of the design of a new £5m cutting-edge MND centre in Leeds, which will be the first of its kind in the UK to be based around the holistic needs of MND patients and their families.

    Rob’s awareness-raising has been matched by a fundraising drive from his old Rhinos team Kevin Sinfield OBE, who has completed multiple marathon challenges in Rob’s name to raise over £7m for MND charities.

    The inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon is due to take place in May this year, with over 10,000 people signed up to take part and raise further funds for his Leeds Hospitals Charity Appeal.

    The Prime Minister’s Points of Light award was first launched in April 2014, having been developed in partnership with the hugely successful Points of Light programme in the USA.

    Since then, outstanding individuals from across the country who are making a positive change within their community and inspiring others have been recognised by the Prime Minister through the award.

    In a personal letter to Rob, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

    For almost a decade, Prime Ministers have been naming a daily Point of Light to recognise extraordinary people in our country whose service to others is an inspiration to us all.

    Today, I have the honour of naming you as the UK’s 2,000th Point of Light.

    You have inspired millions around the world with your strength, courage and positivity. Through your intimate documentary and all your work to raise awareness of MND, you have used your profile as one of the greatest ever rugby players to shine a light on a disease that was once rarely spoken about and little understood.

    You have inspired a phenomenal fundraising campaign that is supporting vital new research and improving the care for others – not least through the creation of The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease in your proud home city of Leeds.

    The legacy of everything you are doing for the fight against this disease will change what it means to be diagnosed with MND.

    As you have said: “in a world full of adversity we must dare to dream.” Inspired by you, many will dare to dream and fulfil those dreams, in spite of whatever adversity they may face.

    You are a true Point of Light. On behalf of the whole country, thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Change of British High Commissioner to Nigeria [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Change of British High Commissioner to Nigeria [March 2023]

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

    Dr Richard Montgomery CMG has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in succession to Ms Catriona Laing CB who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Montgomery will take up his appointment during April 2023.

    Curriculum Vitae

    Full name: Richard Hugh Montgomery

    Married to: Naheed Bilgrami

    Children: Two

    Date Role
    2018 to 2022 The World Bank Group, UK Executive Director, Washington
    2015 to 2018 Department for International Development (DFID), Director, Asia, Caribbean & Overseas Territories (AsCOT) Division
    2013 to 2015 Islamabad, Counsellor (Development) and Head of Office, DFID Pakistan
    2009 to 2013 Abuja, Counsellor (Development) and Head of Office, DFID Nigeria
    2006 to 2009 DFID, Deputy Director and Head of Corporate Human Resources, and Head of Security, East Kilbride
    2005 to 2006 DFID, Deputy Team Leader, Top Management Group
    2002 to 2005 Lusaka, Deputy Head, DFID Zambia
    1999 to 2002 Dhaka, Senior Social Development Adviser, DFID Bangladesh
    1996 to 1999 New Delhi, Social Development Adviser, DFID India
    1993 to 1996 Swansea University, Lecturer in International Development, Centre for Development Studies
    1992 to 1993 Manchester University, Research, Institute for Development Policy & Management
    1992 GKW Consult Mannheim, Sociologist
    1988 to 1991 University of Cambridge, Doctorate (Ph.D) in Social Anthropology
  • PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC52 – UK statement on behalf of the Sri Lanka Core Group [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC52 – UK statement on behalf of the Sri Lanka Core Group [March 2023]

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

    Statement delivered by the UK’s Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Simon Manley, on behalf of the Sri Lanka Core Group.

    Thank you Mr Vice-President

    This statement is by the Sri Lanka Core Group comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the UK and the United States.

    We welcome recent commitments with respect to the protection of human rights in Sri Lanka, including those of persons from all religious and ethnic groups. Together with recent efforts at constitutional reform, and initiatives aimed at fostering political inclusion, these provide a basis upon which to build.

    We also welcome Sri Lanka’s positive engagement in the Universal Periodic Review process in January. We are keen to assist Sri Lanka in implementing its UPR recommendations.

    However, our concerns over heavy-handed responses to peaceful protests remain. Sri Lanka must safeguard the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of expression. We call for accountability for any protest-related violence. Civil society has an important part to play in encouraging the protection of human rights and we underline the importance of protecting space for civil society’s important work, including through any future legislation.

    We stress the crucial importance of upholding the rule of law and safeguarding representative democracy, including by ensuring the independence of institutions and governance systems. This includes the electoral system, in which maintaining the confidence of Sri Lankans is crucial.

    We urge the Sri Lankan authorities to address long-standing impunity and corruption. We also underline the need for good governance, which together with sound economic policies, should better support the prosperity of all Sri Lankans.

    Noting commitments made to the Council in September by the Government of Sri Lanka, we emphasise the importance of transitional justice, including promotion of truth and accountability, with the goal of reconciliation and accountability for all communities. We also emphasise the importance of replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act with legislation that aligns with Sri Lanka’s international obligations.

    The Core Group calls on Sri Lanka to work with the High Commissioner and his Office. We remain ready to support Sri Lanka in addressing HRC resolution 51/1.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Statement on report of Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan [March 2023]

    PRESS RELEASE : Statement on report of Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan [March 2023]

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

    Rita French, the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, delivers a statement on the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.

    Thank you, Mr President.

    We welcome the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan whilst deeply regretting its conclusion that the human rights, humanitarian and security situation in South Sudan remains dire and of urgent concern.

    We are particularly concerned by instances of sub-national violence across South Sudan as well as reports of government intimidation, harassment, illegal arrest and arbitrary detention of civil society actors and media workers.

    Mr President,

    While we recognise some positive progress made by the Government of South Sudan and the National Legislative Assembly, it is clear that the end goal of a just and lasting peace in South Sudan – based on the full respect for human rights, full implementation of the Revitalized Agreement, and full operationalization of the Chapter V transitional justice institutions – is still very far away.

    Bearing all this in mind, and while South Sudan’s own capacity to provide tangible human rights scrutiny is yet to be realised, we believe that the only credible response by this Council can be to extend the Commission’s mandate for a further year.

    Commissioners,

    We welcome your convening of a multi-stakeholder conference on transitional justice in South Sudan in late February. What conclusions did you draw from this?

    Thank you.