Tag: 2019 Press Release

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 29/11/2019.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

“We condemn the excessive use of force by security forces against protesters in Iraq, including the use of live fire in Nasiriya city. The right to peaceful protest must be respected and those responsible for acts of violence held to account.

I am also deeply concerned by attacks against Iranian consulates in Najaf and Karbala. Diplomatic premises must not be a target of violence.

The UK repeats its call for a peaceful, political solution to the unrest in Iraq, with meaningful reforms that respond to protesters’ legitimate demands. I encourage the Government of Iraq to work with the UN on credible electoral reform.”

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 29/11/2019.

NATO Allies have increased defence investment to ensure that the Alliance will continue to adapt to 21st-century challenges.

Ahead of the NATO Leaders’ Meeting in London next week, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

“I welcome today’s announcement that European NATO Allies and Canada will have increased their defence investment by $400bn by 2024. This is progress towards our joint pledge to invest 2% of GDP on defence. But we need to keep up the momentum and see all of our allies meet their commitments in full.

The UK looks forward to hosting NATO next week, so we can reinforce our vital transatlantic alliance, and tackle the common challenges we face.”

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 30/11/2019.

Statement from the governments of France, Germany and the UK:

As founding shareholders of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), France, Germany and the United Kingdom warmly welcome the decision taken by the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, to join INSTEX as shareholders.

This step further strengthens INSTEX and demonstrates European efforts to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran and is a clear expression of our continuing commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).

Full and effective implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is of the utmost importance. Iran must return to full compliance with its commitments under the JCPoA without delay.

We reaffirm our readiness to consider all mechanisms in the JCPoA, including the dispute resolution mechanism, to resolve the issues related to Iran’s implementation of its JCPoA commitments.

We remain fully committed to pursuing our efforts towards a diplomatic resolution within the framework of the JCPoA.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 30/12/2019.

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon gave the UK government’s statement, on justice and accountability, at the 18th session of the ICC Assembly of States Parties.

Mr Vice-President, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates. I welcome this opportunity to address the Assembly on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom.

Promoting international criminal justice and the rule of law has long been, and indeed remains, a fundamental part of the United Kingdom’s foreign policy. That is why the United Kingdom strongly believes in the need for accountability for the most serious crimes of international concern. Perpetrators of these atrocities must be – they must be – brought to justice. Impunity must be tackled. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has a pivotal and important role to play in this effort, as part of the rules based international system.

Mr Vice-President, the Court has been given quite a unique mandate to deliver upon accountability. To fulfill that mandate, it needs the active support of all States Parties.

As a strong proponent of an effective ICC, the United Kingdom continues to provide significant financial and indeed other support– including by enforcing the custodial sentence of Mr Ahmed Al Faki Al Mahdi.

The Court also needs other forms of support from all of us who want it to thrive. That support includes both our honesty and candour.

That is why, in the United Kingdom’s statement at last year’s Assembly of States Parties, my Government, the United Kingdom, set out our concerns frankly, and identified the areas where we believe immediate change was needed – in order to strengthen the ICC, to strengthen the Court, not weaken it. The United Kingdom welcomes the views of many other supporters of the ICC, including States Parties and civil society, and from within the Court itself. Four former Presidents of this very Assembly acknowledged that the Court, and I use their words not mine, “needs fixing”.

Such recognition of the need for change should not be seen as a threat to the Court. Quite the reverse: the real danger would be if, together collectively, we failed to take the steps necessary to support and strengthen this institution.

The United Kingdom believes that the need for change is now acute and pressing. The concerns we raised last year are still very much clear and present. Introducing changes must be a collaborative effort by all of us, all of those who have the Court’s interests at heart. The Assembly clearly has a critical and indeed primary role to play in this respect.

The United Kingdom believes collective action is required on 3 key fronts.

First, on elections. If States Parties want a Court which is able to meet the challenges of not just today but tomorrow as well, we must elect the best possible judges and Prosecutor at next year’s Assembly.

That means that each member of this Assembly must vote for judges on the basis of both merit and experience, and also in accordance with the Rome Statute itself. The Court needs excellent judges who will work collaboratively towards much-needed stability and consistency in the practice and jurisprudence of the Court. States must put forward only those most qualified candidates and choose only the best of individuals.

Therefore, for me I am particularly delighted, the United Kingdom is delighted to have announced Judge Joanna Korner QC as our candidate to be a judge of the Court. I am delighted Judge Korner is here today. Judge Korner has extensive experience in criminal law, both as a judge in the court of England and Wales, and after 8 years as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Experience matters. The United Kingdom looks forward to introducing her to as many of you here today as possible, both here at the Assembly and over the coming months.

This Assembly also faces the challenge of finding the right Prosecutor. The United Kingdom is grateful for the work of the Prosecutor Search Committee so far. When it presents its shortlist, this Assembly must elect the person who is demonstrably the best, most qualified candidate on that particular list, regardless of nationality, or whether they are from a civil or common law background. States Parties should be in no doubt that our choice is absolutely crucial to the future health of this Court.

The second key collective action that States Parties must take is to fulfil our wider responsibilities towards the Court itself.   The United Kingdom hopes that this week the Assembly will adopt strong resolutions to enhance how States Parties nominate and elect the Court’s judges, embed a wider dialogue about reform into the work of the Assembly, and establish an Independent Expert Review of the Court.

The Review’s proposed Terms of Reference would enable a rigorous and objective assessment of some of the most vital areas of the Court’s work and its practices and the United Kingdom would study the experts’ recommendations very carefully. The United Kingdom actively supports changes to make the Court stronger, more effective and indeed more efficient.

However, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, it is important to recognise that the Review is not an end in itself, but only a means to an end. Success will be judged not by completing the review, but by the substantive changes to the Court that it helps to create.

The Review is also just one part of a wider process of strengthening the Court itself. Whilst experts will be well-placed to provide technical expertise in some areas, we as States Parties to the Rome Statute must take responsibility for the sometimes difficult, sometimes political, issues on which we only can decide.

And thirdly, the United Kingdom believes collective action is necessary by the organs of the Court themselves. The United Kingdom welcomes the steps they have taken so far to strengthen the Court, such as the Registry’s Strategic Plan. More effort is now needed on collaboration, financial discipline, and the prioritisation of resources of the Court.

Finally, the UK believes the Court’s relationship with national jurisdictions is of particular and fundamental importance. The ICC is a Court of last resort. The international community cannot expect it to be the answer to every question on accountability – that would not only be an impossible burden on the Court; it would also absolve States of their obligations.

Together, this Assembly and the Court must review the relationship between the Court and national jurisdictions, and how complementarity should operate in practice. This is an enduring matter for the Court and States Parties, which goes beyond the pressing work towards reform and to the heart of what was agreed in Rome.

Mr Vice-President, the United Kingdom strongly supports the steps which this Assembly is taking to tackle the problems facing the Court. Reform is a process, not an event. It will require more hard work on the part of this Assembly, all organs of the Court, and its supporters to fix what needs fixing.

We, as an Assembly, must act now – we must act with urgency – to make the necessary changes. Delay is not an option that will support this Court. If we work together, we can build a Court that is more effective and a Court that is more efficient; a Court that delivers its mandate with credibility and confidence; a Court that ultimately delivers justice and accountability for the most serious crimes of international concern.

Thank you.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 05/12/2019.

Aidan Liddle, Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, gave a statement at the 2019 Meeting of State Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC).

The United Kingdom aligns itself with the statement to be made later by the European Union; I would like now to add some remarks in a national capacity.

Mr Chair, as a depositary state and instigator of the BWC in 1968, the UK maintains a keen interest in ensuring that the Convention is global in its reach, and that its prohibitions are maintained. We are determined that the world be free from the threat of biological weapons. This can best be achieved by the universalisation of this Convention and full national implementation by States Parties.

We welcome the accession of the United Republic of Tanzania, which deposited its Instrument of Ratification in London in August this year. That States continue to join this Convention demonstrates its continued importance to international security.

We also welcome the successful regional universalisation workshop in Wellington, which took place in September under the EU Council Decision in support of the BTWC; we are grateful to the ISU for organising this workshop. This event helped underline the importance of efforts to assist states to join and implement the Convention. Such steps are particularly important in those regions where we have several states outside the Convention, such as the Pacific.

Mr Chair, this year’s Meetings of Experts (MXs) demonstrated again the value of technical interactions between States Parties’ experts. In this respect we would like to recall the presentation made during MX4 on Assistance, Response and Preparedness by the head of the UK’s National CBRN Centre. The presentation was well received and led to an invitation to address a regional Workshop in October for ASEAN States Parties on ‘Preparedness to Respond to the Deliberate use of Biological Weapons’. This is just one example of how the MXs can help promote common understandings and, hopefully, ultimately lead to effective action to strengthen national implementation.

The Chairs’ Summary Reports prepared from the Meetings of Experts provide many valuable technical recommendations for the Ninth Review Conference in 2021. These will serve as a valuable resource for our collective efforts at the final round of Meetings of Experts next year, and for our substantive preparations for the Review Conference.

Mr Chair, a primary aim of our work this week should be to agree the administrative arrangements for the Ninth Review Conference. We believe that a substantive preparatory process will be essential in order to achieve a productive Review Conference, with a substantive outcome; this would mirror the arrangements for the Eighth Review Conference in 2016. Two weeks is sufficient time for the Conference itself. As we look ahead to this important milestone we would like to highlight three issues where we believe that progress ought to be possible: on the need to operationalise Article VII; on the principles of a code of conduct; and on a more structured review process in the next intersessional period for scientific and technological developments.

At last year’s Meeting of States Parties, we agreed the establishment of a Working Capital Fund. We thank those States Parties who have made contributions, but we must be clear on the principles of this fund. It exists for short-term financial liquidity to support the work of the Convention; it cannot be used to mask or excuse the systematic non-payment of assessed contributions. We call upon States Parties to address their arrears as soon as possible. The greater financial predictability created by the fund has enabled us to put the Implementation Support Unit on a sounder footing; the ISU remains immensely important to the work of the Convention and we are extremely grateful for the hard work of its members, notwithstanding the uncertainties that they have had to endure in recent years.

To conclude, Mr Chair, the UK remains determined to strengthen the BTWC and we look forward to what we hope is a productive meeting, which will enable us to further our work against the threat of biological weapons.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 09/12/2019.

Statement by Ambassador Jonathan Allen, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Security Council briefing on the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA).

Thank you very much, Madam President, and how nice to see you in the chair.

Madam President, the United Kingdom welcomes the efforts of UNOCA – and thank you to SRSG Fall for your briefing and your work and that of your team. We welcome the efforts of UNOCA in monitoring, political peace and security developments and trends in Central Africa this year. We welcome the good offices deployed, the work on conflict prevention and mediation, your support to peace and security initiatives and your efforts to enhance coherence and coordination in the subregion. And I want to say how important we also think it is that you continue your efforts to support ECCAS and ECCAS members in their work to strengthen and reform the organisation. UNOCA should look to enhance its work on early warning and analysis alongside greater coordination with UN country teams in the subregion going forward.

With this focus on conflict prevention in mind, let me turn to some specific country areas within UNOCA’s mandate. The UK continues to share the concerns set out in the report about the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in the northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon. We welcome the reports and information that humanitarian access in areas of Cameroon, controlled by the government of Cameroon, have improved significantly in the past few months. All parties, though, need to do more to ensure humanitarian access is protected. And I must particularly condemn attacks on health, infrastructure and personnel on schools, teachers, parents and children, as set out in the UNOCA report. Human rights violations and abuses committed by all sides must stop and all allegations must be investigated.

And let me say how much the United Kingdom welcomes the government of Cameroon’s steps to convene a national dialogue, and alongside that, the release of detainees. The government of Cameroon now needs to ensure that the key recommendations from the national dialogue are implemented, including strengthening bilingualism in the education and legal systems; decentralisation through granting special status to the northwest and southwest regions; and taking steps to engage diaspora groups. I stress again, these are the government of Cameroon’s own intentions, own policies, but we believe that urgent follow-up on those recommendations is vital to maintain momentum. Put simply, words need to be matched by actions. Failure to do so will only cause the already concerning situation to deteriorate further. And the United Kingdom remains willing, as it has been throughout, to support the government of Cameroon in carrying out these recommendations and urges all UN bodies to to do likewise.

Now, Madam President, a united approach on Cameroon is important. The recent joint Commonwealth-Francophonie-African Union visit to Cameroon helped promote the restoration of peace in the northwest and southwest regions. We look forward to hearing about the follow-up recommendations from this joint visit. It’s imperative that the regional and wider international community continues to support credible peacebuilding efforts, including through the mechanism of the Peacebuilding Fund, and urgently responds to the growing humanitarian need. We believe that regional and subregional organizations such as the EU and actors play an integral role, and we hope for further joint visits by the United Nations and the African Union to Cameroon and neighbouring countries.

Let me welcome the OHCHR technical mission to Cameroon, which was, of course, at the invitation of its government, and urge prompt, continued and full cooperation between all sides to ensure the protection of civilians and accountability. And it’s important that there’s follow-up to the visit, including on impunity. Freedom of political expression, must be respected at all times, including in the run up to the forthcoming legislative and municipal elections.

Madam President, let me turn briefly to the situation in the Lake Chad Basin. SRSG Fall reminded us in his briefing, and of course, in his report, on the impact of climate change in that space. The UNOCA report highlighted deplorable high levels of violence and human displacement resulting from Boko Haram and ISWA attacks on civilian and military targets. Now, the United Kingdom recognises the important role of regional countries in supporting stability in the Lake Chad Basin, including through the Multinational Joint Task Force and of course, their hosting of refugees. And a number of us were able to hear from the executive secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission during the Peacebuilding Commission annual session this week on progress made with respect to the regional stabilisation strategy. And all I’d say is I think that we need to do more to ensure full implementation of SCR 2349 to tackle security, humanitarian and development crises in the region.

And we fully support the cooperation that’s been exhibited between UNOCA and UNOWAS, and we’re very pleased to hear about the joint visits between SRSGs Fall and Chambas, and we look forward to a an update when your report on those visits is ready and any conclusions you’re able to draw together on the way forward.

The United Kingdom welcomes the progress made to date by President Touadéra and the CAR authorities since the February peace agreement. We also welcome the reactivation of the CAR-Cameroon and CAR-Republic of Congo Bilateral Commissions and the advocacy role played by UNOCA in helping to bring these about.

We remain extremely concerned by the ongoing political challenges and human rights situation in Burundi and its humanitarian consequences. The elections scheduled for next year are a critical moment for Burundi and we urge the government to work with all parties to ensure a fair and peaceful election.

Let me conclude, Madam President, by noting again that the report and the briefing set out a number of areas where the UN, in its form of its Secretariat, where the agencies, funds and programmes, where member states can support countries and the region in conflict prevention and conflict resolution. We all need to rise to that challenge, and UNOCA is key to that.

Thank you, Madam President.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 10/12/2019.

Delivered by Philip Barton at the 2019 OSCE Ministerial Council in Bratislava on 5 December 2019.

Thank you Madame Chair,

I would like to start by thanking the Chair in Office, Miroslav Lajčák and the Slovak Government for their warm hospitality and all their efforts over the last year.

Every year, we come together and we focus on the same serious security challenges Europe faces. We know that the OSCE’s comprehensive body of principles and commitment holds the solution. The question is whether we have the political will to honour those commitments.

This year, I see a smidgeon of hope.

Hope that the Normandy Summit next week will mark the start of progress towards peace in eastern Ukraine and bring much needed respite to the people of Donbas.

The UK commends President Zelensky’s clear commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. I hope Russia will play its part by immediately ending support for the so-called separatists, and by upholding its Minsk commitments. We also hope to see an end to the daily intimidation and restrictions experienced by the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission.

I call once again for Russia to end its illegal annexation of Crimea and underline the UK’s unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Madame Chair, as the Foreign Minister has just outlined, Georgia’s sovereignty is also being violated. For the Georgian people living close to the Administrative Boundary Line, hope is in short supply. The conflict there has divided villages and isolated communities for far too long. Let me also reiterate the UK’s support for OSCE efforts to resolve the conflicts in Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Reducing military risk is fundamental to our comprehensive and co-operative security. The OSCE conventional arms control framework provides the vehicle. If we all demonstrate the necessary political will to implement it fully in letter and spirit. We continue to see the benefits of Vienna Document Modernisation, to rebuild trust, increase confidence and enhance military transparency.

We hope that the rare consensus found last year on the Safety of Journalists signals renewed respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights. But we are not naïve. Frankly, the human rights picture in parts of the OSCE region is worsening, with unjustified restrictions on civil society, human rights defenders, and independent media.

We also hope that the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 brings comprehensive implementation of OSCE gender commitments. Throughout the region we should make gender equality an integral part of our policies.

Let me end by underlining the UK’s strong support to the OSCE – and by pledging our support to the incoming Albanian Chairmanship, as well as our solidarity in the wake of the tragic earthquake.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 11/12/2019.

Statement by Susan Dickson, UK Minister Counsellor and Legal Adviser at UN, at the Security Council debate on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

Thank you, Mr President. I would like to thank the President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Judge Carmel Agius, and Prosecutor, Mr Serge Brammertz, for their briefings to the Security Council today.

It has now been two years since the Residual Mechanism assumed full responsibility for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s residual functions, alongside those of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. During this time, the Mechanism has continued to make commendable progress in carrying out its mandate. However, there is still more to do to guarantee the legacy of the ICTY and the ICTR.

2020 will be a significant year for the Mechanism, with their ambitious plans to conclude the Stanišić and Simatović retrial and Mladic appeal at their Hague branch and the Ingabatware and Turinabo et al. cases in Arusha. This will be in addition to their other mandated functions. We commend the ongoing work to find efficiencies and to harmonise and apply the most effective practices and approaches across the branches, including the unified judicial database, making it a truly unified institution.

The United Kingdom will continue to support the Mechanism for the remainder of its mandate. However, there is much to do since, as well as ongoing cases among other things, witnesses need protection, missing persons need to be found and domestic prosecutions need assistance. The Mechanism will need the ongoing support of Member States to ensure its mandated functions are completed.

Mr President, I am pleased to note that the process for appointing a successor to Judge Ben Emmerson, for whose contribution the United Kingdom was grateful, is well underway, and we hope will be concluded soon, bolstering the judicial roster of the Mechanism. At this point, may I also take opportunity to thank Peru for its effective chairing of the informal Working Group of International Tribunals.

Mr President, we congratulate the Mechanism on the successful conclusion of its first review hearing and welcome the outcome in the Ingabatware case. We also welcome the subsequent indictments against Ingabatware and the five accused in the Turinabo et al. case. It is vital that witnesses are protected and the integrity of the proceedings conducted by the Mechanism is maintained. We therefore welcome these important steps to hold accountable those who interfere with witnesses. We note the decision yesterday, mentioned by the President, that the Ingabatware contempt case will be joined with the Turinabo et al. case, and are pleased that this will not result in a significant delay to these cases.

I would also like to remind Member States of the importance of cooperating with the Office of the Prosecutor to find the eight remaining Rwandan fugitives still at large so they can be transferred to the Mechanism without further delay. We agree with the Prosecutor that this is vital to international peace and security. Acting to apprehend fugitives must be treated as a priority by states if the painstaking work undertaken by the Prosecutor’s office is going to lead to concrete results. We also at this stage express our serious concern at denial of the Rwandan genocide as mentioned by the Prosecutor.

Turning to The Hague, we note the progress made in the Mladic and Stanišić and Simatović cases and are pleased that these are due to conclude by the end of next year.

However, despite some progress between some countries of the Western Balkans, we are disappointed that regional judicial cooperation, denial of war crimes and glorification of war criminals remain significant challenges to accountability and ending impunity in the region. When Leaders signed the Joint Declaration on War Crimes at the 2018 London Western Balkans Summit, they agreed to underline the importance of “supporting, and removing impediments to, effective regional cooperation” and to “rejecting use of hate speech and glorification of war crimes”. The United Kingdom calls on them to ensure they are taking every step possible to honour their commitments, including improved co-operation with the Mechanism.

In this week marking International Genocide Remembrance Day, it seems particularly appropriate for us all to seek to work together to try to ensure that the Mechanism makes progress in its very important work.

I thank you, Mr President.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 11/12/2019.

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

Thank you, Madam President.

Madam President, we gather today in the name of prevention. International peace and security is under threat, owing to the unabated development of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons technology by North Korea. Despite concerted and good faith efforts by the US to negotiate a solution, this year has seen 13 sets of illegal ballistic missile tests.

We gather today also to send a message to Pyongyang: it is not too late. You can prevent the situation worsening. You should seize this diplomatic opportunity that has already been repeated in the Council this session. The united expressed will of the Security Council is that North Korea should begin a process of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation. The UK will continue to work with international partners to support this goal.

Madam President, it bears repeating what is at stake. As the China Permanent Representative said, this is truly and quintessentially a matter for the Security Council and only the Security Council of international bodies can really deal with such a challenge deriving from weapons of mass destruction and proliferation. It’s a vital issue. It is hard to discern, Madam President, what lies behind the provocative and dangerous moves by North Korea.

Since May 2019, they have tested three different types of short range ballistic missiles, and these tests have demonstrated substantial progress for this illegal and reckless weapons programme. As other representatives have said, each test is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. And the Council needs to support the rigorous enforcement of its sanctions in the face of such violations. And I just wanted at this point to endorse what the French representative said about the humanitarian angle with which we agree wholeheartedly. The sanctions regime imposed by the Council will remain in place until North Korea takes concrete steps towards denuclearisation. Further breaches of Security Council resolutions, whether they’re ballistic missile launches, space launch vehicles or nuclear tests, will only harden the resolve of the Council.

There are further implications in possessions of such weapons. It’s in no member state’s interest to see North Korean technology and expertise proliferate across borders. As next year we face the anniversary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it becomes a very important moment to resolve this issue.

Madam President, we should not forget the suffering of the North Korean people. The human rights situation in North Korea is disturbing. They are the worst offender on the Global Slavery Index, and 179th out of 180 in the Reporters without Borders World Press Freedom Index. Human rights has a critical role to play, and we urge North Korea to concentrate on improving the lives of its most vulnerable people.

Madam President, all states have an obligation to enforce this council’s sanctions. We urge action to address the continued reports of fuel shipments to North Korea in violation of the mandated annual imports cap. And we urge vigilance against North Korea’s illegal fundraising activity, including its use of cyber attacks. And we remind states, if I may, Madam President, that all North Korean overseas workers earning income should be repatriated by 22 December this year.

Madam President, our message as a Council must be united and it is clear. Continued development of programmes in violation of Security Council resolutions will not be tolerated. We urge North Korea to change course, to engage in meaningful negotiations with the United States and to begin a process of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation.

Thank you.

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 16/12/2019.

Statement by Ambassador James Roscoe at the Security Council briefing on peace and security in Africa.

Madam President, our thanks first to you and to Cote d’Ivoire for convening today’s important debate and also our thanks to our briefers for giving us their time and and their insights.

Madam President, the deteriorating situation in West Africa is a source of major concern, as we’ve heard from everyone around the Council today. This was underlined again by last week’s terrorist attack in West Niger in which many Nigerian soldiers lost their lives. And our condolences go to the families of these troops and of all those civilians, national forces and UN peacekeepers who have suffered at the hands of violent extremists in West Africa.

As we’ve heard, too, the UN has a vital role to play in supporting national and regional efforts which address the drivers of violence. But this instability cannot be solved by the UN alone, nor through purely military or counter-terrorist initiatives. We need to address the underlying drivers of this conflict. Strengthening stability and security across West Africa requires a comprehensive approach to the interconnected drivers.

In too many parts of the region, corruption, failure to provide basic services and the lack of economic prospects for young people combine to provide fertile grounds for extremist groups. The impacts of climate change cause shocks and stresses which exacerbate the risks of inter-communal violence, including by contributing to competition over scarce resources. And serious organised crime networks, often operating across national boundaries, exacerbate instability and prey on local communities in the absence of state authority.

Madam President, tackling these challenges requires a comprehensive approach across all three pillars of the UN system: in peace and security, in development and in human rights. And it requires coordinated work from all partners.

We recognise the important role of regional efforts to tackle terrorist groups, including through the G-5 Sahel Task Force and the Multinational Joint Task Force, just as we commend the efforts of regional organisations, including the AU and ECOWAS. For our part, the UK is set to deploy 250 personnel to Mali in 2020 to provide vital long-range reconnaissance capabilities to MINUSMA. And we have contributed over $6.6 million in bilateral funding to support the operation of the MNJTF and $2.4 million to the G5 Sahel Joint Force.

And we are working closely with West African partners to support nationally and locally-led conflict prevention efforts to prevent both extremism and intercommunal violence. For example, in northern Nigeria, UK development funding, worth nearly $50 million over five years, is currently supporting initiatives to increase economic opportunities for marginalised youth. And in Borno state, we’re providing a further $28 million in funding for projects to reduce young people’s ability to recruitment by violent extremist groups.

But while individual initiatives like this matter, we know that long-term solutions to instability are grounded in prosperous and inclusive economies. And to that end, the United Kingdom is proud to be hosting a UK Africa investment summit on the 20th of January in London in order to mobilise high quality international investments for the region.

Madam President, we need to also deliver long-term solutions because there are no quick fixes to such complex issues. And while states must, of course, take the lead in delivering for their citizens and finding political solutions to conflicts, there is more the UN can do to support them. A coherent “whole of UN” approach is required. This should include work by UN country teams to support national efforts to prevent violent extremism from taking hold; following a proper assessment of the capacities, capabilities and resources nationally; and we are keen to see more coherence coordination between UNOWAS and the UN development actors in the region. And we should continue our work through the counterterrorism and sanctions committees to deny terrorists access to arms, to funding, and to bring them to justice, as well as supporting member states in strengthening their own counterterrorism frameworks and capacities.

We should also scale up efforts to address the root causes of instability in the region through focussed and coordinated peacebuilding programmes. In this regard, we are very pleased the Secretary-General has recently re-approved Mali’s eligibility for access to peacebuilding funds. The UK remains one of the biggest supporters of the Peacebuilding Fund, having doubled our contribution to $43 million in 2018. And we look forward to continuing to work with the Peacebuilding Support Office and Peacebuilding Commission to leverage those resources for the benefit of the communities facing the challenges of inter-communal violence and of terrorism.

Madam President, I’ve had the privilege to serve in in West Africa to travel extensively around the countries of the region, so this is an issue which is very close to my heart. And I think we just need to focus on three particular areas. I think the UN needs to come together to focus more fundamentally on them, but essentially the three ingredients are: security – and we talked about this already – but progress will not be made unless states can provide security within their territory and can work together across boundaries and borders to deliver this within the region. So we need to work together to help them build that capacity.

But security will only be sustained if governments work to deliver good governance and the rule of law. And many of us have spoken about this; we set this out very clearly in SDG 16. This is the key precursor to investment and growth. And investment and growth when it comes can help deliver the third ingredient, which is economic growth and development. This lifts people out of poverty and this stops people being tempted down the routes in the path of violence.

So I think, you know, we’ve heard everyone this morning talk about these things. The challenge is how we deliver them. And I think in that regard, it was very interesting to hear the African Union talk about this concept of recess, to look again at all the multiple initiatives that we have across the region – I think there were 15 or so that were mentioned – and see how we can bring greater coherence to them so that the UN in the region can work better together to deliver them.

For our part, the UK will continue to play our role in partnership with the UN and with our friends across West Africa.