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The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 2 October 2026.

Statement by Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Third Committee on Human Rights.

Across the world, people are being denied their human rights through conflict, repression, discrimination, and the misuse of power and technology. 

The principles that we defend in this Committee are not abstract. 

They protect human dignity, support peaceful and inclusive societies, and help to prevent instability and conflict.

At a time of growing pressure on human rights and on the multilateral system, we must

turn our shared commitments into practical change for people.

Yet the human rights landscape is becoming more dangerous. 

Attacks on women, girls and LGBT+ people, and shrinking civic space are compounding the effects of conflict and authoritarian repression. 

Our response must put human rights and the rule of law at its heart.

In Gaza, basic humanitarian needs remain unmet. 

All parties must uphold international law, protect civilians, and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access. 

We condemn abuses by Hamas and other non-state actors. 

Hamas must decommission its weapons and its terror infrastructure and have no role in Gaza’s future governance. 

We support full implementation of the 20-Point Plan. 

And we remain committed to a credible political process towards a two-state solution.

In the West Bank, settlement expansion, settler violence, and displacement are

undermining that prospect for a two-state solution. 

The UK has taken recent action to address this priority, including restrictions targeting settlement activity and those who support, facilitate, or profit from it. 

We call on all parties to uphold international law, protect civilians, and facilitate humanitarian access.

In Ukraine, five years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, the human cost continues to grow. 

The United Nations’ independent monitoring and investigative mechanisms are essential. 

Russian forces have attacked civilian infrastructure, tortured detainees and prisoners of war, and unlawfully deported and militarised Ukrainian children. 

Russia must be held accountable, and Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity must be upheld.

In Sudan, civilians face atrocity crimes, conflict-related sexual violence, displacement, and hunger. 

The illegal flow of weapons and external support is sustaining that conflict. 

All states must stop supporting the warring parties, respect international humanitarian law and use their influence to protect civilians, secure humanitarian access, and end the violence. 

The UN Fact-Finding Mission must continue its vital work to preserve evidence and lay the foundations for accountability.

In South Sudan, renewed political tensions, attacks on civilians, forced recruitment, sexual violence, and restrictions on political space threaten stability and risk a return to wider conflict. 

Leaders must exercise restraint, pursue genuine, inclusive dialogue, and respect the commitments of the peace agreement.

In Myanmar, we condemn human rights violations and abuses, particularly those committed by the military, including airstrikes on schools, hospitals, and places of worship. 

We continue to support efforts to collect and preserve evidence so that perpetrators can be held to account.

In Syria, we welcome the steps taken by the Syrian government to make progress on her

political transition, including convening a new Parliament, and the steps taken

to ensure accountability and transitional justice both for Assad-era crimes and recent incidents of sectarian violence. 

We continue to encourage the Syrian Government to ensure an inclusive and representative political settlement that protects the rights of all Syrians, and holds those responsible for human rights abuses and violations to account. 

This is essential for the long-term stability and prosperity of the Syrian people.

In Afghanistan, Taliban decrees systematically exclude women and girls from education, work, and public life, restrict access to justice, and entrench discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities. 

These policies are indefensible. 

And the Taliban must reverse them.

In Iran, thousands of peaceful protesters were killed by security forces in January. 

Protesters have since been executed, and many more remain on death row.

Reports of torture and ill-treatment, including of women, ethnic minorities, and religious communities, are deeply concerning. 

Iran must end her violent suppression of dissent, establish a moratorium on executions, and cooperate with UN accountability mechanisms.

Beyond conflict, governments are also using technology, law, and state power to silence dissent.

In China, evidence of violations in Xinjiang and Tibet persists. 

The Ethnic Unity Law risks entrenching restrictions on the rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities. 

China should implement the recommendations of the 2022 assessment, release those arbitrarily detained, address reports of forced labour, and allow meaningful independent access to Tibet.

In Hong Kong, recent convictions underscore how the National Security Law is being used to restrict political expression. 

Earlier this year, Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison; we call for his release.

Mr President, in these country contexts and elsewhere, civil society and human rights defenders turn commitments into change. 

But they face intimidation, reprisals, and transnational repression, including for cooperating with the United Nations. 

The United Kingdom unequivocally condemns such retaliation. 

We are proud to support the Lighthouse Fund, providing protection for human rights defenders under threat.

We will also continue to defend the rights of women and girls globally. 

This includes tackling all forms of violence against women and girls and promoting comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

We will champion women’s economic empowerment and their full, equal, and meaningful participation in public life and in decisions on peace and security.

Human rights are universal. 

They apply equally to every person, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other LGBT+ people. 

No one should face violence, criminalisation, or exclusion because of who they are, or who they love, or how they express themselves.

At a time of pressure on the UN human rights system, the answer is not to lower our ambition. 

It is to focus the system where it adds unique value: through independent scrutiny, through credible evidence, through accountability, and through protection for those whose voices are silenced. 

The United Kingdom will listen, act, and work with partners from every region. 

And we will defend universal rights without fear or favour because defending human dignity is the surest way to build a safer and a fairer world.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 October 2026.

The UK has announced a package of 31 sanctions against Russia as UK steps up economic pressure ahead of the winter.

• New package of sanctions against Russia announced as UK steps up economic pressure ahead of the winter.
• 31 new measures include sanctioning LNG shadow fleet vessels, Kremlin disinformation networks and perpetrators of civilian torture and child indoctrination. 
• Action comes as Russia fired over 3,100 jet powered drones into Ukraine in September, outstripping its grim wartime record from August.  

The UK has announced a package of sanctions designed to stem funding for Putin’s war chest, disrupt disinformation networks and go after those responsible for torturing Ukrainian civilians and deporting Ukrainian children.

Following sham elections in Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine earlier this month, the UK is now taking firm action against people and entities found to have undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity through human rights abuses.  

They include eight people involved in the arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian civilians. These abuses are part of a wider system of repression in Russia’s occupied territories, where enforced disappearance and denial of justice have also been used against Ukrainian civilians.

A further seven individuals are being targeted for their role in the indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, including those deported by the Russian authorities. To date, an estimated 6,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly relocated to a network of heinous so-called “re-education” camps.  

Millions more Ukrainian children living under Russian occupation are subjected to Kremlin propaganda programmes. These include training in weapons handling and drone operation and are designed to strip children of their Ukrainian identity while preparing them to serve the very state attacking their homeland. 

In addition, the Russian state is attempting to build a dangerous new ‘shadow fleet’ to circumvent sanctions and sustain revenues from its gas exports. Today’s package targets several vessels acquired to support that effort, including some that entered service as recently as July this year. By targeting these ships, the UK is increasing pressure on a sector the Russian state sees as critical to its future revenues. 

Minister for Europe Lord Wood of Anfield said:

We are targeting both the revenues that help sustain Russia’s aggression and perpetrators of horrendous crimes against Ukrainian civilians, including children. The UK will not flinch in our support for Ukraine.

As part of the UK’s work with international partners to support their transition away from Russian energy, existing licensing arrangements have been extended to cover LNG, on a targeted and time-limited basis, to support the Republic of Korea’s and Japan’s energy security.

Japan and the Republic of Korea are close partners of the UK that have shown leadership in their support for Ukraine. As a member of the Coalition of the Willing, Japan has pledged over $20 billion in financial, humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Ukraine. In July 2026 the Republic of Korea also announced a new $100 million package of assistance for Ukraine. 

The UK has led international efforts to crack down on Russia’s decrepit shadow fleet, sanctioning nearly 600 tankers used to evade Western sanctions and bankroll Putin’s war machine. In June, UK forces delivered another blow when they intercepted the shadow fleet vessel SMYRTOS, sending a clear message that those helping to fund Russia’s aggression cannot hide. International sanctions have already deprived Russia of nearly $500 billion in funding for its war effort and the UK will continue to keep up the pressure. 

It comes as Russia continues to intensify its vicious air attacks on Ukraine, with drone and missile strikes in the last week killing at least 44 civilians and injuring a further 315, and follows the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary’s diplomatic push to support Ukraine at UNGA. 

Russia has continued to wage a disinformation war across the world, utilising a network of faceless online bot farms and trolls to target democratic processes and spread disinformation.  

As the Prime Minister made clear at the UN last week, the Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion each year on manipulating information – putting the security of Europe and the UK at stake. Today’s package includes seven individuals – including four Georgian nationals – involved in spreading pro-Kremlin disinformation, from legitimising Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory to serving in Russian-installed authorities in occupied South Ossetia,  

Today’s measures demonstrate the UK’s determination, alongside partners, to hold those responsible for Russian state aggression against Ukraine to account, constrain the revenues sustaining its war and defend the security of Ukraine, the UK and Europe. While the UK does not seek confrontation with Russia, until Putin chooses to end his senseless and barbaric war, the UK’s support for Ukraine will remain unshakeable. 

Notes to editors:

• The package comprises 23 individuals and entities and eight ships. 
• The 23 individuals and entities will be subject to asset freezes, trust services sanctions and director disqualification sanctions. The individuals will also face travel bans. The eight ships will be subject to shipping and trade sanctions.  
• The vessels sanctioned include three shadow fleet vessels, two vessels providing them with bunkering services and three Russian-owned ice-class vessels 
• UK Sanctions list: Russia: list of designations and sanctions notices – GOV.UK
• General Trade Licence: Maritime Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) – Japan – GOV.UK
• General Trade Licence: Maritime Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas – South Korea – GOV.UK