Category: Press Releases

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 04/11/2019.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Julian Braithwaite, delivers UK statement on Italy at the 34th UPR, commending their efforts to tackle all forms of modern slavery.

Thank you, Mr President,

The United Kingdom welcomes Italy’s commitment to protect human rights.

We commend Italy’s efforts to tackle all forms of modern slavery and welcome Italy’s signature of the Call to Action to End Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Forced Labour.

We note the increase in racial and discriminatory attitudes, particularly against migrants and LGBT individuals. However, we welcome the new Government’s open commitment to ensure racial and discriminatory behaviours are not tolerated.

We recommend that Italy:

1) Support businesses in addressing modern slavery in supply chains by implementing its 2016 labour exploitation legislation and encouraging agricultural businesses to sign up to the “quality agricultural labour network”.

2) Develop a multi-agency approach, including the involvement of community groups, to tackle underlying causes of racist and intolerant behaviours.

3) Adopt an open, merit-based process when selecting national candidates for UN Treaty Body elections.

Thank you.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 04/11/2019.

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

I wanted to say that we very much share the very strong support, Deputy Secretary-General and Ambassador Mohammed, for your visit. I think this has been fantastic venture in highlighting the centrality of the the Women, Peace and Security agenda to African peace and security.

And the United Kingdom very much supports all of those colleagues today who’ve called for more women in both political processes in general, but also specifically in peace processes. I think that means in turn, an even greater focus needs to be placed on the issue of girls education so that we can start to help young girls and women take their rightful place in community top tables and in the top tables of their nations.

If I can mention a few country specific examples, the United Kingdom has a strong partnership with Somalia on serving and protecting women and girls. We work to include women in reconciliation efforts, security reforms and political dialogue, address sexual and gender-based violence, and we support access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. And I very much endorse what others have said today about the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in Somalia’s upcoming elections. We encourage Somalia to maintain her commitment to the 30 percent quota for women in parliament and we hope to see the Sexual Offences Bill and the Female Genital Mutilation Bill making swift progress through the Somali legislature.

Turning to Sudan, I think the Council very much wishes Sudan well and wants to do everything we can to support her. The United Kingdom shares that. We were delighted to hear the Prime Minister reiterate his commitment to the full participation of women in government at the General Assembly in September. We’ve all reheard referred to Alaa Salah’s very important contribution to the debate last week and I think we look forward to even more engagement and participation in public life.

We were very pleased that you were able to visit, DSG, the country of Eritrea. There’s a clear opportunity for step-change in UN and AU engagement with Eritrea, following the historic peace agreement with Ethiopia, the lifting of sanctions, and we believe it’s essential that increased international engagement delivers further improvements in regional security and concrete progress on human rights there.

Finally, on Ethiopia, I join other colleagues in paying tribute to Prime Minister Abyei and his award of the Nobel Peace Prize – a very important testimony to his role in promoting peace in the region and political reform at home. What everyone has said about the Ethiopian president is extremely important. It’s very good that 50 percent of cabinet positions are reserved for women; this is a lesson to us all, perhaps. We hope to see Ethiopia build on this progress and promote women’s participation as voters and candidates in upcoming elections and reform, security and justice institutions to make them more responsive to the needs of women and girls. Continued outbreaks of violence do concern us and highlight the need for all actors to work towards reformed institution and the importance of peaceful dialogue.

We wanted to make this session interactive, so I’d like to ask a few questions, if I may, in addition to those colleagues have already raised. One about girls education: how can we make sure that increased investment in girls education translates into women’s economic empowerment? I think the Indonesian ambassador already asked about what practical steps would improve women’s participation in peacekeeping; you’ve given us some, but if there’s more that can be said on that, we look forward to it. And what more support do you think women mediators and civil society actors need so that they can strengthen their participation in political dialogue?

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 05/11/2019.

Mr David Ward has been appointed High Commissioner to the Independent State of Samoa, as we open a new High Commission in Apia.

Mr David Ward has been appointed High Commissioner to the Independent State of Samoa, as we open a new High Commission in Apia. He will succeed the current, non-resident High Commissioner, Ms Laura Clarke, who will remain British High Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor of the Pitcairn Islands. Mr Ward will take up his appointment during December 2019.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: David Ward

2016 to present Solomon Islands, British High Commissioner
2014 to 2016 Asmara, Her Majesty’s Ambassador
2013 to 2014 Lashkar Gah, Deputy Head of Mission, Provincial Reconstruction Team
2012 FCO, Silver level Manager, Olympic Coordination Centre
2011 to 2012 Tripoli, Deputy Head of Mission
2010 to 2011 FCO, Senior Strategy Adviser, Policy Unit
2006 to 2009 Beijing, Deputy Counsellor – Political
2002 to 2005 Kathmandu, Deputy Head of Mission
1998 to 2001 FCO, Head of Institutions Section, Common Foreign and Security Policy Department
1995 to 1998 Tokyo, Second Secretary – Political
1994 to 1995 Full-time Language Training (Japanese)
1992 to 1993 FCO, Assistant Desk Officer, EU External Department
1992 Joined FCO

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 05/11/2019.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab responds to Iran’s announcement on the JCPoA.

Iran announced today that it intends to further reduce its compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) nuclear deal.

In response to Iran’s announcement the Foreign Secretary said:

“Iran’s latest actions clearly contravene the deal and pose a risk to our national security. We want to find a way forward through constructive international dialogue but Iran needs to stand by the commitments it made and urgently return to full compliance.”

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 03/01/2020.

The UK has responded to the airstrike carried out by the US on Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

“We have always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qasem Soleimani. Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate. Further conflict is in none of our interests.”

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 05/11/2019.

Statement on Israel’s plans to advance over 2,300 housing units in West Bank settlements.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said:

“The UK condemns the Israeli authorities’ recent advancement of plans for over 2,300 housing units across the West Bank.

Settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the physical viability of the two-state solution. The UK calls on Israel to halt such counterproductive action.”

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 05/11/2019.

The Government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council have signed an agreement in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

An FCO spokesperson said:

“The UK welcomes the signing of the Riyadh Agreement between the Government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council.

Recognising the difficult political, humanitarian and security situation in the South of Yemen, we applaud the efforts of Saudi Arabia in seeking to re-establish security and stability in the region.

We fully support the Saudi-mediated Riyadh Agreement as a positive and important step towards a comprehensive political solution for Yemen.”

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 05/11/2019.

The Minister for the Middle East Dr Andrew Murrison met the Chairman of the White Helmets today to discuss the situation in Idlib, Syria.

Dr Murrison said:

“I had a valuable meeting with Chairman of the White Helmets, Mr al-Saleh today to discuss the situation on the ground in Idlib.

White Helmet volunteers continue to be subjected to a massive disinformation campaign by the Syrian regime and the Russian government. These deceitful tactics are a brazen attempt to divert attention from the barrage of appalling attacks against the Syrian people, which has included the use of chemical weapons.

I thanked Mr al-Saleh for the lifesaving service that the White Helmets provide to thousands of ordinary Syrians and reiterated the UK’s unwavering support.”

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 05/11/2019.

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

Thank you, High Representative. Thank you to Ms Korjenic for your briefings.

I think we take a different view on the importance of the office of the High Representative than the Russian representative has just set out. We believe that the Office of the High Representative continues to play an essential role in Bosnia and Herzegovina and has the United Kingdom’s full support, including, as other countries have mentioned round the table, for the use of the Bonn powers if and when the situation requires. And the reason for that, I think, is obvious. There are some people, including some leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who want to do all they can to stop Bosnia and Herzegovina being a flourishing, normal state. Dayton requires Bosnia to be an independent state with two entities, the Federation and Republika Srpska. But it does not place the entities above the state and therefore, as long as there are leaders in Bosnia who refuse to acknowledge or who work against that very important statehood aspect of Bosnia and Herzegovina enshrined in Dayton, codified by this Council and implemented for very many years through the Peace Implementation Council and the steering board, as long as that antagonistic approach to Bosnia as a state continues, the Office of the High Representative will continue to be necessary and the Bonn powers will continue to be necessary. So I just want to put on record the United Kingdom’s very firm support for you, High Representative, and your team.

I also want to thank Ms Korjenic from Trial International. We in the UK support Trial’s work to secure justice for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and we pay tribute to all the work you do – and I’ll come back to that in a minute, if I may. And we join other colleagues in welcoming the unanimous adoption of the resolution for a further 12 months, authorising the European Union to continue Operation Althea. This demonstrates the continued commitment of the international community to Bosnia’s security and stability, but as the French representative said, it also underscores Bosnia’s European and Euro-Atlantic direction and trajectory.

And I just want to say on that that it is my understanding that there are certain laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina that codify this Euro-Atlantic integration, both in respect of the European Union and in respect of NATO, and there are certainly resolutions of this council that codify the Euro-Atlantic integration and there are numerous decisions by the Peace Implementation Council and by the steering board, which codify that Euro-Atlantic integration. And that desire of the Bosnian people has never been overturned in law. So while leaders may argue against that because they’ve changed their mind or it doesn’t suit their political rhetoric, the law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the corpus of decisions supported and passed by the international community is in favour of supporting Bosnia for as long as she wants to go down that road of Euro-Atlantic integration. And these are battles that need to be fought democratically, not undemocratically through polemic and demagoguery.

I want to just recall that nearly 30 years ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the big issue for this council, where our predecessors passed many resolutions day after day to try and stop the fighting and restore stability and peace to the country. The war lasted for four dreadful years and it changed forever the way the UN does peacekeeping. In 1995, as we’ve heard today, the massacre in Srebrenica claimed nine thousand lives of Muslim men and boys – the worst massacre in Europe since 1945. These are not insignificant events for Europe or for Bosnia or for the Balkans. And the reason the International Criminal Tribunal was set up was indeed to try people for these crimes. So we very much agree with Ms Korjenic that people should not be trying to undermine what the ICTY discovered. The ICTY was a legitimate tribunal. It was established by this Council and its judgments still stand.

I’m running out of time so I will simply say that on reconciliation, I endorse what the German and Indonesian representatives said. That’s a very important part of what is happening. And I also want to stress the vital importance of the rule of law for all Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens. Ms Korjenic exhorted us not to despair. I don’t give up on Bosnia. I’ve worked on the issue of the Balkans since 1991. We’re not going to despair because if we despair of Bosnia, it fundamentally means the bad guys have won. And that’s not what we’re going to let happen. So you can rely on the United Kingdom and your Atlantic institutions to remain helping Bosnia as long as all of Bosnia’s citizens want it.

Thank you very much.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 02/01/2020.

Following the storming of the US Embassy in Baghdad in December 2019, the UK has called for diplomatic missions to be protected.

An FCO spokesperson said:

“The UK unequivocally condemns the attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad. It is wholly unacceptable to target diplomatic premises. The Government of Iraq should ensure that diplomatic premises are protected, and those responsible for violence are held to account.”