Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 September 2024.

A FCDO spokesperson said:

The UK supports the US in their assessment that RT is not only a state-funded propaganda house, but deliberately working to undermine our collective security on behalf of the Kremlin.

Already a mouthpiece for Russian disinformation, RT has mutated into an altogether more harmful organisation.

US information shows that RT is engaged in information operations and covert influence across the world. These activities strike at the democratic foundations of other countries, using intelligence operations and shadowy networks to incite political violence, and spread dissent across the world. Working in direct cooperation with the Kremlin, RT has sought to influence democratic processes in Moldova and to spread damaging lies designed to inflame tensions.

As part of this cooperation the Russian Government had embedded an entity with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence within RT with the full knowledge of RTs senior leadership.

Alongside its public lies and disinformation RT has also used proxy outlets under the guise of independent media to disseminate false pro-Kremlin narratives.

Together with our international partners we have already taken strong measures to prevent RT from achieving its pernicious objectives, sanctioning its parent company TV Novosti and working to restrict its influence. We will continue to bear down on those who would threaten our collective security and democratic values.

In its control of RT, we see the extent of the Russian state’s duplicity: weaponising the media in order to spread lies, threaten global security and further its illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have seen these shoddy attempts to obscure the truth and they have failed.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 September 2024.

The eighth UK-Japan Cyber Dialogue took place on 12 to 13 September 2024 in London.

The meeting was co-chaired by Will Middleton, Cyber Director at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Naoki Kumagai, Ambassador in charge of Cyber Policy and Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Policy Bureau at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Representatives attended from the UK’s FCDO, Cabinet Office (CO), Department for Business and Trade (DBT), Department for Science, Information and Technology (DSIT), Home Office (HO) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and from Japan’s MOFA, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Ministry of Defense (MOD), National center of Incident readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC), National Police Agency (NPA), and Japan Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center (JPCERT/CC).

At this dialogue, the 2 sides exchanged views on a wide range of issues, such as on each country’s cybersecurity strategy and policy, cooperation in the international fora including the UN, and cybersecurity capacity building.

Both chairs agreed to strengthen cooperation under the May 2023 UK-Japan Cyber Partnership as a linchpin of the wider global strategic partnership. Both sides affirmed that the 2 countries will continue to meet under the Cyber Dialogue.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Working Group on Mercenaries.

Thank you, Mr President,

The UK would like to thank the Working Group for its report today which sheds light on the role of mercenaries and mercenary related actors in the trafficking and proliferation of arms.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the widespread human rights abuses carried out by mercenary related actors such as the Wagner Group, who have engaged in arms trafficking, while continuing to exacerbate conflict, inflict violence and undermine peace and security wherever they operate.

The UK condemns the killing of civilians, torture and sexual and gender-based violence carried out by the Wagner Group, which is now being replaced by new groups such as Africa Corps, PMC BEAR and no doubt others. These proxy actors profit from conflict while supporting Russia’s malign aims.

The UK will continue to use all tools necessary and appropriate to tackle these actors and to hold them to account.

Members of the Working Group,

Given the evolving nature of conflicts, coupled with the rising involvement of these malign actors carrying out mercenary-like activities, how can the Working Group assist States in enhancing their capacity to effectively address these challenges?

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 September 2024.

UK Statement for Independent Expert on Older Persons. Delivered at the 57th Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Thank you, Mr President,

The UK welcomes the recent consensus adoption by the General Assembly of the Open Ended Working Group on Ageing’s recommendations.

We agree with the Independent Expert that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Critical data gaps globally need to be addressed for comprehensive policy development. Without quality, disaggregated data, it will be challenging to understand the extent of exclusion that many older people currently face.

The UK is working on addressing this challenge. We have been supporting the Titchfield City Group to develop standardised tools and methods for producing both data disaggregated by age and ageing-related data. The Group will issue a final report of their findings in 2025.

We thank the Independent Expert for her work highlighting the key gaps facing older people. Are there any particular thematic areas where older persons are most neglected?

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences.

Thank you, Mr President,

We thank the Special Rapporteur for his thorough report on how incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people are affected by slavery, and for bringing this important issue to the Council’s attention.

We are deeply concerned by the scale of sexual exploitation and abuse faced by incarcerated people.  Women, children and ethnic minorities are particularly at risk. We must end discriminatory laws and practices that enable a culture of impunity for such exploitation. Victims must have access to justice, and perpetrators must be held to account.

Individuals who have been incarcerated are often stigmatised afterwards. This increases their risk of becoming victims of modern slavery. We therefore welcome your recommendations on the importance of reintegration measures to enable access to education, decent work, adequate housing and financial inclusion.

In 2022, the UK changed legislation so that, for the first time some people with sentences of four years and over will no longer have to disclose their criminal record.

Special Rapporteur,

We would welcome your recommendations on what more can be done to strengthen reintegration measures for incarcerated people during and after their detention.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 September 2024.

Richard Crowder has been appointed as Head of British Office Sudan and UK Special Representative to Sudan in succession to Mr Giles Lever.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Richard Crowder

Year	Role
2022 to 2024	Full Time Arabic Language Training, London and Amman

2020 to 2022

Deputy Director, FCDO London

2017 to 2020

Islamabad, Deputy High Commissioner

2014 to 2016

FCO, Deputy Director, Europe Directorate

2011 to 2014

FCO, Head, Economics Unit

2007 to 2011

Brussels, Seconded to Policy Unit, Council of the European Union and then External Action Service.

2006 to 2007

Masters in Public Administration, Harvard Kennedy School

2002 to 2006

FCO, Head, Gibraltar Team, Europe Directorate

1999 to 2002

Moscow, Second Secretary

1997 to 1998

FCO, Desk Officer, Birmingham G8 Summit

1996 to 1997

FCO, Desk Officer, Africa Great Lakes

1996	Joined FCO

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 September 2024.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security.

By calling this meeting today on ‘western weapons transfers to Ukraine’, Russia has, yet again, succeeded only in drawing our attention to its continued hypocrisy.

Just days ago, it came to light that Russia has received Iranian ballistic missiles for use in prosecuting its illegal war against Ukraine. The transfer poses a direct threat to European security and stability elsewhere and will increase the suffering of the Ukrainian people. It is this which should be the focus of today’s meeting, not Western support for a sovereign state’s legitimate and legal right to defend itself.

Iranian close-range ballistic missiles will soon reach European soil. The transfer will increase Russia’s capability to launch short-range attacks on the front lines, enabling it to use more of its long-distance missiles to strike deeper inside Ukraine. As we said earlier this week together with our international partners, we can be certain that the suffering of the Ukrainian people will increase as a result.

Colleagues, none of us need reminding of the atrocities Russia will inflict with the aid of these weapons. The UN has verified over 35,000 civilian casualties caused by Russia’s war – we suspect the real number is far higher. Russian missiles are hitting schools and children’s hospitals. Humanitarian workers are being killed. And Russia is cynically and brutally targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, posing significant risks to the lives of millions of Ukrainians ahead of winter. It seems that only one member of this Council needs reminding that deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure is a war crime.

President, Russia also continues to purchase significant quantities of weapons for use in Ukraine, including ballistic missiles from DPRK, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions Russia itself voted for.

This increased military cooperation between Russia, Iran and DPRK poses an unacceptable threat to not only European security, but to global security. In return for weapons needed to prolong its illegal war, Russia is violating sanctions endorsed by the UN Security Council and building the capabilities of, and emboldening, both the Iranian and North Korean regimes. This contributes to further destablisation in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter. We will not be deterred from our unwavering support for Ukraine. We remain committed to providing the political and military support Ukraine requires to defend itself – in line with its Article 51 right – against Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion, and to secure a just and lasting peace, in line with the UN Charter.

And President, let me conclude with the words of my Prime Minister yesterday: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict straight away. Ukraine has the right to self-defence.”