Category: Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE : UK investments, research, and revolutionary treatments can help end tuberculosis – UK statement at the UN Tuberculosis High-level Meeting [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

Statement by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad at the UN Tuberculosis High-Level Meeting on ending tuberculosis.

I thank the President of the General Assembly and distinguished colleagues from Poland and Uzbekistan for your leadership on this summit and its political declaration.

In 2015 the world committed to ending TB by 2030.

Now is the right time to come together and reaffirm our commitment to end TB, and our collective action to make that happen.

The UK welcomes the declaration made at this meeting and the commitments in it.

We know that investments against TB can strengthen health systems and support us to achieve universal health coverage.

They can help us to prepare for future pandemics.

And they can help us in the fight against Anti-Microbial Resistance.

I am proud of the UK’s record in the fight against TB.

The UK is the third largest donor to the Global Fund investing over four and a half billion pounds over the last twenty years.

Our latest £1 billion pledge will provide TB treatment and care for over a million people and screen twenty million.

We have reduced the price and improved access to key drugs through our support to Unitaid, the Clinton Health Access Initiative and MedAccess.

And I’m very pleased that on Monday our Foreign Secretary acknowledged the importance of research, with a further £5 million to the TB alliance to support the development of new treatments.

This brings our funding to nearly £70 million over 6 years.

The TB Alliance has already brought revolutionary new treatments to market – more than a million courses of children’s medicines have been delivered to 123 countries.

And their new treatment for drug resistant-TB is quicker, more effective, has fewer side effects and is estimated to save up to 43,000 more lives by 2025.

We are also taking action to tackle TB in the UK.

Despite falling cases, TB remains a risk to the most vulnerable, and progress towards elimination has stalled.

Drug resistance remains an issue and we are taking the lead in using genome sequencing to identify resistance patterns and ensure effective treatment.

And the UK Health Security Agency is working with partners to evaluate promising vaccine candidates.

Our efforts to improve global health will continue into 2024, with next year’s High-level Meeting on Anti-Microbial Resistance a landmark opportunity to tackle AMR on a truly global scale.

Thank you for your time today, and for your continued commitment to end this cruel disease.

September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC54 – UK Statement on Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

Statement for Interactive Dialogue with the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela. Delivered by UK Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French.

Thank you, Mr. President.

We thank the Fact-Finding Mission for its update. Its work is critical to monitoring human rights violations and abuses.

The report evidences intensified targeted persecution against human rights defenders and shrinking civic space. From the sentencing of six union leaders without due process to the continued arbitrary detention of human rights defenders, fundamental rights continue to be denied. Human rights violations must stop.

The resolution of Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis requires tolerance of dissenting voices and democratic normalisation. Unconstitutionally banning opposition candidates moves Venezuela further from a solution. We stress the importance of an independent, credible electoral arbiter and the right of Venezuelans to register and vote in free and fair elections.

We understand that these incidents are not isolated but are part of a context of continuous deterioration of the rule of law. We therefore believe that the situation in Venezuela continues to warrant the attention of the international community and the mandate of the Mission remains fundamental to deliver progress on human rights.

Señora Valiñas, the UK encourages Venezuela to give effect to previous recommendations made by the Mission. What are the most urgent recommendations in the lead up to the electoral period?

September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Land purchased for flagship levelling up site in Darlington [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 25 September 2023.

The government’s levelling up programme is moving further ahead today, with land for the permanent site of the new Darlington Economic Campus being purchased.

The Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) was established in August 2021 and Departments moved into Feethams House in June 2022. It currently houses 600 government staff.

Brunswick Street is the permanent site for the DEC, which is the Treasury’s second headquarters and will also accommodate the Department for Business and Trade. Construction of a new government hub will begin in October 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The hub will help grow the economy in the region with 1139 roles committed to Darlington, and 674 relocated to date. The move of Civil Service roles to Darlington is expected to generate approximately £30 million per 1,000 roles relocated in economic benefits for the town, down to increased footfall and spending from staff.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said:

Levelling up is about tangible change on the ground and the purchasing of the Darlington Economic campus land shows that the government is putting down roots in the communities we serve.

The campus will house 1400 civil servants and as the Treasury’s second headquarters is a visible signal of levelling up in action.

It will not only create job opportunities for people in the local area, it also means a Civil Servant could pursue an entire career to the top of their profession without ever moving to London.

The land purchase shows how the government is spreading opportunity across the country and putting down permanent roots in communities, as the country levels up.

The DEC is an important part of the Government’s Places for Growth (PfG) programme, which is moving roles out of London to areas across the UK.

The programme will see 22,000 roles move from London by 2030 and is part of ensuring that staff working in government are closer to the people and communities that they serve.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office Alex Burghart said:

The continued success of the Darlington Economic Campus shows that the Places for Growth programme is delivering high quality government jobs across the whole country.

This is good for the local area and good for the Civil Service, as it ensures that Whitehall can take advantage of the wisdom and experience from people all over the UK.

This new site will provide more capacity for civil servants to work from at least eight different government departments.

Alongside the Treasury, the Campus will house teams from the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Office for National Statistics and the Competition and Markets Authority. They will be working alongside the Department for Education who already have a base in Darlington.

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Gareth Davies said:

People should be able to develop their careers within the Civil Service without moving to London and the Darlington Economic Campus is testament to that. It has a strong vision, which includes making government, policy, and delivery stronger through a diverse workforce which is more representative of the public we serve.

With this new milestone there is a real sense of momentum. The Brunswick Street space will be a boost for local growth and jobs while bringing the people of Darlington and the Tees Valley closer to the heart of government decision-making.

The building will accommodate over 1,400 civil servants in a highly sustainable, interoperable working environment. Campus locations such as the DEC provide an enduring sustainable model for PfG role relocations, enable more effective cross-Goverment collaboration and help to create a Civil Service that is more connected to and reflective of the communities it serves.

The building, which will be highly sustainable, will be designed in line with the Government Workplace Design Guide. Once complete, it will offer an effective mix of flexible work spaces to support accessibility, neuro-diversity, collaboration and wellbeing, along with refreshment hubs, home zones and meeting rooms.

Recruiting for the DEC is progressing well with several departments currently based in Feethams House, the interim DEC’s interim home. Civil servants based in the interim facility will relocate to Brunswick Street on completion of the new building, and Feethams House will be used to support the wider DEC alongside Bishopsgate House.

Clive Anderson, Director of Capital Projects said:

The Government Property Agency plays a key role in the Government’s transformation agenda ensuring that people in all part of the United Kingdom receive opportunities as part of the Levelling Up programme.

Working closely with Darlington Borough Council, Tees Valley Combined Authority and our clients, we will create unique opportunities for people across Darlington and the North East.

Investing in a land purchase and a freehold solution, gives us the opportunity to design the hub as a landmark, sustainable, placemaking building, with high levels of inclusivity enabling access by all.

It is expected the construction contract tender will be released via the CCS Construction Works Framework in Q4 2023.

September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC54 – UK Statement on Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

UK statement for Interactive Dialogue with the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. Delivered by the UK’s Ambassador to the WTO & UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Mr President and welcome Commissioners.

A year ago, Russia attempted to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, following its organisation of sham referendums on sovereign Ukrainian territory.

Since then, Russia’s attempts to consolidate control in these regions have been characterised by repression, violence and a total disregard for human life. Evidence, including that collected through the invaluable work of this Commission, shows widespread and systematic atrocities committed by Russian forces, many of which may amount to war crimes.

So, we have a simple message to Russia: we see through your farcical claims that this is a war of liberation. You can’t liberate people by shelling them, nor by torturing them, nor by deporting them and their children. Just as you can’t change borders by force – no matter how many sham referendums or elections you hold.

It is time to end this war and withdraw your forces – in line with your obligations under the Charter.

Commissioners, thank you from us all for the vital work over the last 16 months.

Ukrainian children have been relentlessly targeted as part of Russia’s efforts to erase Ukrainian identity and culture – including through their large-scale forced transfer and deportation to Russia and Russian-controlled territory.

So Commissioners, are you carrying out further investigations into the forcible transfer of children, including the widely reported use of so-called “summer camps” for systematic political indoctrination?

Thank you.

September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Government proposals for improved system for cattle registration [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 25 September 2023.

Improvements to the traceability system for cattle have been set out by the government.
Proposals will reduce red tape for farmers and pave the way for a new and improved digital cattle registration system.

Views sought in eight-week consultation on an updated system

By law all bovines in England must be registered with the British Cattle Movement Service to allow the government to identify and locate livestock in the event of an animal disease outbreak or food safety incident.

The proposals – subject to an eight-week consultation – include the use of new digital technology to remove cumbersome paper processes making the system easier to navigate and less time consuming for keepers.

These changes will enable the Government to trace disease more quickly and effectively and help safeguard national public health and food safety. This will also strengthen the UK position in international markets.

Biosecurity Minister Lord Benyon said:

“By registering their cattle, farmers and keepers play an important role in protecting the national herd from insidious diseases such as Bovine TB and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

“I urge all those with an interest to respond to this consultation to help ease unnecessary administrative burdens and take advantage of digitisation, to make registration of cattle much easier.”

The government has engaged closely with industry to understand the difficulties of the current system, which also covers bison and buffalo – and how they can be resolved.

As well as the introduction of bovine electronic identification (BeID), other new proposals include a fairer and more proportionate regulatory framework, and greater flexibility such as for late registration of calves, so that farmers do not suffer financially by having them excluded from the food chain.

This consultation forms part of the wider Livestock Information Transformation Programme, which will replace the existing domestic traceability databases with one multi-species platform.

Bovines will have a new database that will make tracing individual animals quicker and easier, which will help to reduce the harm caused by a disease outbreak.

The consultation launched yesterday (21 September) will run for 8 weeks until 23:59 on 15 November.
September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : All storm overflows now covered by plan to clean up waterways [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 25 September 2023.

Government expands plan to tackle storm overflows, including all coastal and estuary sites .
Government expands plan to tackle storm overflows, including all coastal and estuary sites

Marine protected areas and shellfish water protected areas made a priority

Plan to drive £60 billion capital investment over next 25 years – the largest infrastructure programme in water company history.

Action to tackle sewage pollution and clean up our waterways has been expanded, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has confirmed today (Monday 25 September).  All coastal and estuary storm overflows are now included in the largest infrastructure programme in water company history.

The updated Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan sets out stringent targets to protect people and the environment; and prioritises for early action areas used for bathing, for growing shellfish or with high ecological importance.

The additions to the Plan will also mean that Marine Protected Areas and shellfish water protected areas will also be added to the ‘high priority sites’ list, alongside Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and bathing waters.

The expanded plan will result in an estimated increase in capital investment in the water system of £60 billion to tackle storm overflows, up from the £56 billion announced in 2022.

This is part of continued action announced in the Plan for Water, which sets out government’s strategy to hold water companies to account and manage the pressures on our water resources through more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

As a coastal MP, I am determined to address the damage sewage discharges have on our coastlines.

Water companies must clean up their act and our Plan means no overflow will be left behind in our efforts to clean up our waterways.

Through more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement of the water sector we will tackle pollution from every storm overflow in the country.

The expansion comes after a recent High Court ruling in favour of the government’s Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. The government won on all claims considered by the High Court, meaning the plans were considered lawful. The ruling also outlined that the government’s plan goes ‘substantially’ further than the law to drive a reduction in storm overflow discharges. We are expanding the Plan further still.

As part of robust government action, the targets set out in the Plan will now apply to every storm overflow in England – an increase from 91% coverage to 100%. The targets include requirements for water companies to:

Improve 100% of storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water; and improve 75% of overflows discharging to high priority sites by 2035

Improve all remaining storm overflows, regardless of location, by 2050.

These plans strike the right balance between the need for investment and the impact on consumers. Under this Plan, there will be no changes to bills until 2025. Eliminating all discharges – as has been called for by some - could cost between £120 billion and £600 billion, increasing annual water bills by between £271 and £817 by 2049.

Storm overflows are a feature of combined sewerage systems, designed to prevent sewage backing up into properties and stop mains pipes bursting. There are strict permit conditions for when and how they should be used to protect our environment. Today’s announcement follows a six week public consultation earlier this year.
September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Government announces employment support boost for over 30,000 economically inactive young people [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Work and Pensions on 25 September 2023.

The expansion of the Youth Offer to inactive claimants, for the first time, will begin immediately to help young people into work and improve wellbeing.
- Department for Work and Pensions’ Youth Offer to expand, providing tens of thousands more young people support to find work.
- More young people claiming Universal Credit will have access to jobs support – including Work Coaches and interview preparation assistance.
Tens of thousands of 16-24-year-olds will be given access to additional support in finding and securing work following the expansion of the Department for Work and Pensions’ Youth Offer, it has been announced today [Monday 25 September].

Despite youth unemployment being down by over 43% since 2010, young people are more likely to be economically inactive than the rest of the population. Today’s announcement expands the DWP’s Youth Offer to economically inactive claimants, who were previously ineligible, as part of welfare reforms the Government is introducing to reduce economic inactivity and help more people back into work.

The Youth Offer is an integral part of support offered to young Universal Credit claimants which until today was only available to young people deemed closest to work. The expansion will see this support offered to thousands of economically inactive claimants – those who are seen as further away from and who face more challenges finding long term work.

This will give over 30,000 of 16-24-year-olds the option to access three types of support through the Youth Offer: additional time with a Work Coach early in their claim; access to Youth Hubs; and Youth Employability Coaches.

Evidence shows that work is an effective way to improve wellbeing. This ranges from reducing the risk of depression to improving physical health, as well as helping to build self-confidence and providing a place where people can socialise and form friendships.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride MP said:

My department is introducing the next generation of welfare reforms to reduce economic inactivity and help thousands more people into work.

Expanding the Youth Offer will not only help to grow the economy, it will change lives – providing more young people with the pay, purpose and mental health advantages that we know work brings.

The Youth Offer consists of three key elements, the cornerstone of which is offering claimants additional Work Coach time early in their claim and help in referring young people to the appropriate support.

Work coaches give claimants support, guidance, and advice to get into work. This could range from identifying transferable skills which fit the local job market, updating CVs and interview coaching.

Alongside this, Youth Hubs across Great Britain give advice and guidance to young people seeking work, and some offer this help on a drop-in basis. They are located within other organisations to provide access to more services in one location.

Young claimants with more serious and complex barriers to work, such as problems with addiction or finding somewhere permanent to live also have access to Youth Employability Coaches. These coaches can provide tailored and intensive support to young claimants before, during and after they have entered work, which alongside the other aspects of the Youth Offer, help to ensure that everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of good employment, regardless of their situation.

Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression, Mims Davies MP said:

The best way to get on in life, improve wellbeing and make friends is through work, and the expanded DWP Youth Offer gives our young people the key tools and support they need to find fulfilling and meaningful work.

We are delivering for young people across the country, and I’m delighted that tens of thousands of them will be able to access life-changing support to progress in employment through the expanded DWP Youth Offer.

Barry Fletcher, CEO of Youth Futures Foundation said:

We welcome the extension of the Youth Offer, which will provide support to more young people in their search for a job.

Evidence shows that some groups of young people, including young parents and carers, face additional challenges in their search for work and we are pleased to see the start of the expansion today, enabling more young people to benefit from the accessibility of Youth Hubs and the guidance specialist coaches can provide.

Today’s expansion is part of the £3.5 billion package of measures announced in the 2023 Spring Statement from the Chancellor to get more people into work. This includes £485 million of investment in support for unemployed people who are on Universal Credit, as well as people working less than full time hours.

For more information about how you can apply for Universal Credit and access the Youth Offer see here.
September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Two new appointments and two reappointments to RCEWA for four-year terms [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 25 September 2023.

The Secretary of State has appointed Dr Helen Jacobsen and Dr Caroline Shenton, and reappointed Christopher Baker and Stuart Lochhead to The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

Dr Helen Jacobsen

Appointed for a four year term from 1 September 2023.

Dr Helen Jacobsen is Executive Director of The Attingham Trust, a charitable educational trust that organises study programmes on historic houses for professionals in the heritage sector. Formerly Senior Curator and Curator of 18th-century Decorative Arts at the Wallace Collection, where she was responsible for furniture, porcelain, clocks, gilt bronze and gold boxes, she has curated exhibitions and published on eighteenth-century decorative art and collecting history. She is a member of the Council of the French Porcelain Society and of the Grants Committee of the Furniture History Society, and is a trustee of the Leche Trust.

Dr Caroline Shenton

Appointed for a four year term from 1 September 2023.

Dr Caroline Shenton is the former Director of the Parliamentary Archives and a former senior archivist at the UK National Archives. Originally a mediaeval historian, she has an MA from St Andrews University and a doctorate on the court of Edward III from Worcester College, Oxford. She qualified as an archivist at UCL, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society. Caroline taught Public History to postgraduates at the Centre for Archives and Information Studies at the University of Dundee for a number of years, and in 2017 was a Political Writer in Residence at Gladstone’s Library. She is now Secretary to Council at Girton College, Cambridge.

As well as writing various academic and technical publications during her professional career, in 2013 she began to specialise in popular histories of heritage in peril. Her first trade book The Day Parliament Burned Down (OUP, 2012), won the Political Book of the Year Award, beating Alastair Campbell, Nick Robinson and Andrew Marr to top prize. It was also shortlisted for a number of other prizes, and was a Book of the Year for The New Statesman, Daily Telegraph, Mail on Sunday and Herald Scotland.

Its highly-acclaimed sequel, Mr Barry’s War (OUP, 2016) about the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster, was a Book of the Year in for The Daily Telegraph and BBC History Magazine. Her third book, National Treasures, about the evacuation of London’s galleries and museums in the Second World War, was published by John Murray in November 2021 and was shortlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Non-Fiction Crown, and was a Book of the Year for London Historians.

Christopher Baker

Reappointed for a four year term commencing 1 October 2023.

Christopher Baker is an Hon. Professor at Edinburgh University and holds a number of non-executive roles and trusteeships. He served for ten years as a Director of the National Galleries of Scotland, where he was responsible for the collection and programme at the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Yale Centre for British Art and the Paul Mellon Rome Fellow and worked at Christ Church, Oxford, and the National Gallery in London. Christopher is a member of the Spoliation Advisory Panel, the Recognition Committee (Museums Galleries Scotland) and the Advisory Board of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UKRI).

He has organised numerous exhibitions in the U.K. and internationally on aspects of British art pre-1900, drawings and watercolours, and old master paintings. His publications include: Fuseli, The Realm of Dreams and the Fantastic (2022, co-author); J. M.W. Turner: The Vaughan Bequest (2018); Landseer: The Monarch of the Glen (2017); Jean-Étienne Liotard (2015, co-author); John Ruskin: Artist and Observer (2014, co-author); Catalogue of English Drawings and Watercolours 1600-1900, National Gallery of Scotland (2011); and The National Gallery [London] Complete Illustrated Catalogue, (1995, co-author).

Stuart Lochhead

Reappointed for a four year term commencing 1 October 2023.

In 2018 Stuart set up his own firm dealing in European Sculpture from the late Mediaeval period to Rodin based in St James’s, London and has since sold a number of important works of sculpture to various international museums, including a sculpture by Giovanni Pisano to the Musée de Cluny, a rare portrait bust by François Girardon to the Château de Versailles, and the original model of Why Be Born a Slave by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux to the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Upon graduating from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 1994 Stuart Lochhead joined Daniel Katz at his newly opened gallery in Jermyn Street. In the following years Stuart mounted numerous exhibitions in New York and London on European Sculpture. He organised three major loan exhibitions at the gallery on Renaissance and Baroque bronzes from The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Stuart was formerly on the board of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, The Sculpture Journal and Chairman of the Courtauld Association. Stuart organised the first gift by a UK company to a museum through the Cultural Gifts Scheme.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Members of the RCEWA are not remunerated. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Christopher Baker, Dr Helen Jacobsen, Stuart Lochhead and Dr Caroline Shenton have not declared any significant political activity.

September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : British Army trains Ukrainian soldiers in mine disposal skills [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 25 September 2023.

The Royal Engineers are delivering world-leading training to Ukraine’s combat engineers in Poland, with 1,500 mine detectors having been provided to Ukraine by the UK.

Royal Engineers sappers have delivered crucial explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training to Ukrainian soldiers to disable mines, munitions and other explosive devices that are being used in Ukraine and are currently one of the biggest threats to the safety of civilians in the country.

Mines present one of the biggest obstacles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as they seek to re-take illegally occupied land. It is critical to the success of the ongoing counter-offensive that Ukraine has the resources to deal with mines; this thorough and tailored training package teaches soldiers munition recognition, disposal methods and search procedures to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs), mines, booby traps and trip wires.

Training includes how to conduct a threat brief, plan mine-disposal operations, and practical lessons on how to clear not only vast swathes of land, but also trench systems, bunkers and civilian buildings. Final assessments involve search teams covering a complex area with a designated commander.

Soldiers use metal detectors and personnel mine extraction kits and are taught how to adapt the equipment they have available on the front line. They have also been trained on equipment donated by the UK, including VALLON detectors.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said:
Our support for Ukraine is unwavering and I want to be clear that we will continue to support Ukraine to ensure they win this war and reclaim their sovereignty.

Putin’s illegal invasion has left Ukraine’s fields and towns covered in deadly landmines and unexploded munitions, which presents an immediate danger to its citizens now, and for years to come.

The Royal Engineers are using their world-leading experience to train Ukraine’s bomb disposal experts, who can pass on these lifesaving skills to their own recruits and ensure a safer future for all Ukrainians.

Much of the training takes place within an area designed to simulate conditions similar to those on the frontline, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine are encountering minefields, booby traps, and improvised explosive devices.

The training package, which was developed following a request from Ukraine, is delivered in Poland by 35 Engineer Regiment EOD&S and is tailored based on feedback provided by Ukrainian sappers, some of whom have served on the frontline since as far back as 2014.

The UK is also supporting a Canadian-led programme in Poland, teaching basic combat engineering skills to the AFU and both courses have collectively trained approximately 1,000 soldiers with ambitions to train more.

Considerable equipment and training to Ukraine has been provided by the UK to improve their ability to clear mines. This has included over 1,500 sets of both vehicle-mounted and ‘on-the person’ mine clearing and explosive ordnance disposal equipment, including necessary training.

More mine-clearance capabilities are expected to be announced in the next round of funding from the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine, which has raised £770million from partners to supply military equipment to Ukraine.

Captain Chris Wilson, 35 Engineer Regiment EOD&S, who is commanding the EOD training, said:
We are teaching Ukrainian sappers skills we developed during various deployments, as well as evolving our own techniques based on feedback from Ukraine’s frontline, in order to deliver vital training which will save Ukrainian lives.

More than 23,500 recruits from the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already received training in the UK since the start of 2022, learning essential frontline skills including trench and urban warfare, leadership, and medical training.

At the start of 2023, the UK committed to train a further 20,000 Ukrainian recruits – approximately double the amount trained last year – under one of the largest training programmes of its kind in the world.

Beyond teaching combat skills to recruits, the UK has provided a broad package of other skills including medical training to provide pastoral care, spiritual support and moral guidance.

Including both the Op Interflex and the programme for marines, the UK’s training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is supported by Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.

The UK remains fully committed to supporting Ukraine, with a further £2.3bn already earmarked for further military support through 2023, with additional munitions and equipment to be delivered in the coming months. Further UK government assistance continues in the form of humanitarian support and economic aid.

September 25, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : First Anniversary of Moscow Mechanism Report on Russia – Joint Statement to the OSCE [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2023.

UK and 38 other participating States mark the first anniversary of the 2022 Moscow Mechanism Report on the Russian Federation.

Mr Chair,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the following participating States Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States, inter alia those that on 28 July 2022 invoked the Moscow (Human Dimension) Mechanism on the Threats to the Fulfilment of the Provisions of the Human Dimension Posed by Human Rights Violations and Abuses in the Russian Federation.

One year ago, the report released on 22 September under the Moscow Mechanism revealed a clear link between internal repression of human rights and fundamental freedoms and external aggression:

“To start a war with another country, the elite must be sure that there will be no two-front war (with one front inside and one front outside the country). Therefore, restrictive measures are considered necessary in order not to be disturbed during the preparation for war or after it has started”.

Today, Professor Nußberger’s report sadly remains topical, as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues unabated, and as the human rights situation in Russia has deteriorated further. Russia has continued its systemic curtailment of human rights and civic space through further dissolution of independent media, harassment of lawyers, arbitrary imprisonment of civic activists and human rights defenders, and closure of human rights organisations, including Memorial, Moscow Helsinki Group and the Sakharov Center. The wave of repressions against dissenting voices has continued, with an array of unjust and arbitrary sentences issued under the penal code imposed on persons who only exercised their human rights and fundamental freedoms: including those that exercised their freedom of expression, by sharing posts on social media or they exercised their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. While in the past repression hit certain groups disproportionately, such as ethnic and religious minorities (e.g. Chechens, Jehovahs Witnesses), certain professions (journalists or opposition politicians) or persons belonging to particularly vulnerable groups (such as LGBTIQ persons), it is now a generalised phenomenon.

While larger organized protests have become impossible in Russia, there are still individuals across the country, who – in the face of omnipresent repression and the arbitrary application of Russia’s laws – continue to exercise their right to freedom of expression. Their attempts to oppose the Kremlin’s despotic regime are severely punished. Let me cite a few examples: Vladimir Kara-Murza (sentenced to 25 years), Alexey Navalny (whose term was extended to 19 years in August 2023), Ilya Yashin (sentenced to 8,5 years), Alexey Gorinov (sentenced to 7 years), Maria Ponomarenko (sentenced to 6 years), Olga Smirnova (sentenced to 6 years), but there are many others, such as Igor Paskar (sentenced to 8,5 years), Igor Baryshnikov (sentenced to 7,5 years), Oleg Belousov (sentenced to 5,5 years), Pavel Pekpaev (sentenced to 5,5 years), Parvinahan Abuzarova (sentenced to 3 years), and a number of others awaiting their trials in jail or currently on trial, such as Oleg Orlov, Evgeny Bestuzhev, Alexandra Skochilenko, Evgenia Berkovich, Svetlana Petriychuk, Konstantin Kochanov, Anna Bazhutova, Azat Miftakhov, and Pavel Stepanov. These are just a handful of the individual activists and bloggers that reports describe as targeted for repression simply for expressing opinions contrary to government propaganda and disinformation. An Orwellian dystopia is being realized before our eyes in Russia.

In August of this year, Memorial, a prominent human rights organisation, and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, published a 200-page report on political repression in Russia in 2022. The report gives a grim overview of continuing repressions, thus illustrating and confirming the trends detailed in Prof. Nußberger’s report, including the conclusion that numerous Russian laws are clearly incompatible with the rule of law and provide the pretext for targeting opposition voices, resulting in ever intensifying repressions. Under what amounts to military censorship, anti-war protests are completely banned and the extensive application of an entire array of anti-extremism legislation since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has resulted in the use of ever harsher punishments, as the examples listed beforehand show.

We renew our appeal to Russia to uphold its international commitments and obligations on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the OSCE principles and commitments. We call on Russia to release all the political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.

We call on the OSCE to continue giving priority to addressing the most critical issues in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Russia that continue to seriously undermine democratic stability, peace and security throughout the OSCE region and could have even greater unpredictable consequences at national and international levels.

We continue to remind Russia of one of the cornerstones enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. The universal significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect is an essential factor for peace, justice and well-being. We will continue to support those civil society actors whose work accords with the values upon which the OSCE was founded.

Thank you.

September 25, 2023