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The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 November 2023.

The UK marks 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence, renewing efforts to work with partners to prevent violence and empower women and girls worldwide.

• UK marks the annual 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence with renewed efforts to work with partners to prevent violence and empower women and girls around the world
• Development Minister Andrew Mitchell announces new support that will help women’s rights organisations in more than 70 countries
• Lord Ahmad visits Colombia to meet survivors and see UK-funded support programmes a year on since the UK’s landmark Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) conference

The UK is investing in grassroots women’s rights organisations on the frontline of tackling violence against women and girls around the world, it is announced today.

Development Minister Andrew Mitchell is announcing the new support at an event in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on Tuesday 28 November, as Lord Ahmad visits Colombia to meet survivors and see the UK’s work in action.

To mark the 16 Days of Activism, the UK is announcing a new package of support including:

• up to £18 million in new support for grassroots women’s rights organisations across 70 countries to tackle gender-based violence in communities, focusing on the most marginalised as part of the UK’s biggest ever funding boost to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. Funding will improve access to services including legal aid, shelters, and health care for survivors, support more effective legislation, and help to shift harmful attitudes and behaviours to prevent violence before it starts
• the first round of successful grantees under the What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale programme which will initially support 8 women’s rights organisations in Malawi, India, Pakistan, Somalia, Eswatini, Uganda and Madagascar to implement innovative, locally-led approaches to drive down rates of violence in homes, schools, universities and workplaces
• a new £15 million UK-funded programme in Somalia to reach more than 117,000 people with help to advance the rights of women and girls in humanitarian crisis through mental health support, training for health workers to recognise signs of violence and the establishment of centres to bring together medical, legal and psychosocial services

At the halfway point of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, no country is on track to eliminate violence against women and girls by 2030. Despite the scale of the problem, UK-funded evidence shows that violence is preventable and can be reduced by 50% by focusing on the most effective approaches.

International Development Minister, Andrew Mitchell said:

Our support to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women helped reach over 400,000 women and girls in 2022, but there is more to be done.

We are stepping up our support for grassroots organisations in more than 70 countries around the world and new funding will go towards tackling gender-based violence to help empower women and girls everywhere.

These announcements come as Lord Ahmad, Special Representative for PSVI, visits Colombia, accompanied by HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh.

The minister will see how UK-funded programmes are supporting survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) including with legal representation and psychological support, and formally hand over the chair of the International Alliance on PSVI – a growing network of 25 members established by the UK, including governments, the UN, survivors and civil society – to Colombia for 2024.

The Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and Minister of State (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Commonwealth and United Nations) Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

I am proud of the progress we have made over the past year in further tackling conflict-related sexual violence.

The UK and Colombia are united in our desire to achieve further justice and redress for victims of the appalling sexual violence that took place during the Colombian conflict – and for survivors around the world.

I am in Colombia this week to listen and learn from survivors’ stories and witness the inspiring efforts of the organisations who support them. Their voices and bravery to step forward continue to inspire global action.

In the year since the UK hosted the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) conference where more than 50 countries signed a declaration agreed to urgent action, the UK has lead efforts to champion survivors and hold perpetrators to account including through sanctions. As well as work in Colombia, this includes strengthening national accountability in Ethiopia, Guinea, Ukraine, and South Sudan through the UN.

Abigail Erikson, Chief of the UN Trust Fund said:

The UN Trust Fund is extremely grateful to the Government of the United Kingdom for this contribution and the impact it will have on women and girl survivors and those at risk of violence, whose lives count on the critical and lifesaving work of civil society and women’s rights organisations.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 November 2023.

Mr Philip Hall OBE has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in succession to Ms Bridget Brind OBE. Mr Hall will take up his appointment this month.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Philip Ridley Hall OBE

Place of birth: Chichester, West Sussex

Married to: Karine Hall

Children: 3

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 November 2023.

Foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US and the EU High Representative gave a statement on the situation in Israel and Gaza.

Statement by G7 foreign ministers and the High Representative of the European Union:

We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union welcome the release of some of the hostages seized on 7 October by Hamas and other terrorist organizations and the recent pause in hostilities that has allowed a surge in humanitarian assistance to reach Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We, as the G7, urge the release of all hostages immediately and unconditionally.

We call for the facilitated departure of all foreign nationals. We emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself and its people, in accordance with international law, as it seeks to prevent a recurrence of the 7 October attacks.

We appreciate the leadership of the United States and countries in the region, especially Qatar and Egypt, and their tireless efforts to secure this and future pauses. We support the significant efforts of the United Nations to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian assistance during this pause.

This arrangement is a crucial step towards bringing all remaining hostages home and addressing the full scope of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We call on all parties to build on the provisions of the deal and to ensure greater humanitarian aid continues to reach civilians in Gaza on a sustained basis. Every effort must be made to ensure humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, fuel, and medical supplies. We support the further extension of this pause and future pauses as needed to enable assistance to be scaled up, and to facilitate the release of all hostages.

We underscore the importance of protecting civilians and compliance with international law, in particular international humanitarian law. We remain steadfast in our commitment to work with all partners in the region to prevent the conflict from escalating further. Emphasizing the importance of maritime security, we call on all parties not to threaten or interfere with lawful exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by all vessels. We especially call on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks on civilians and threats to international shipping lanes and commercial vessels and release the M/V Galaxy Leader and its crew, illegally seized from international waters on 19 November.

We remain committed to a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 November 2023.

During a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels today (28 November), Foreign Secretary David Cameron will galvanise support for Ukraine among NATO Allies.

• Foreign Secretary David Cameron will underline the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine in his first meeting with NATO foreign ministers
• he will attend the NATO-Ukraine Council in Brussels tomorrow (Wednesday 29 November)

During a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels today (28 November), Foreign Secretary David Cameron will galvanise support for Ukraine among NATO Allies.

At a gathering of the NATO-Ukraine Council tomorrow (29 November), due to be attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba, the Foreign Secretary will update his counterparts on his recent visit to Kyiv, his first trip in his new role, and underline that the UK remains firmly behind Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, urging Allies not to waver in their support.

The Foreign Secretary will also set out the need for Sweden’s urgent accession to the Alliance, stating that the agreement would mark a critical step forward in strengthening peace and stability in Europe.

The Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said:

NATO keeps over one billion people safe and secure. And nearly 75 years on, the Alliance is stronger than ever.

Putin first believed that NATO would be divided and that Ukraine would crumble. Now he believes he can wait out his war in Ukraine. He was wrong then and he is wrong now.

Together, the UK and our NATO allies will never turn a blind eye to Russian aggression. The UK will continue to be a steadfast supporter of Ukraine and a champion for European peace and stability.