Tag: 2023

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 January 2023.

Colombia and the UK renewed their “Partnership for Sustainable Growth”, to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and to promote sustainable, low carbon and nature-positive development.

• The Partnership focuses on halting and reversing deforestation, implementing a just and ambitious energy transition, and promoting the sustainable use of biodiversity, with a commitment to supporting local communities across the country. This next phase of the Partnership will also expand to include new and vital areas of collaboration, including halting biodiversity loss in land and marine ecosystems, whilst also ensuring participation and mainstreaming of gender and social inclusion.
• The UK also announced two new innovative projects to empower indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in Colombia. Working with WWF, the UK will accompany IPLCs to enable them to harness the international carbon markets and maximise the opportunities they provide. The UK will also join a project led by GAIA Foundation to support the official recognition of Indigenous Local Governments in the Amazon.

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, 7 November 2022 James Cleverly, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, was joined by his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Leyva, Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Lord Zac Goldsmith, and the Colombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, to renew the UK-Colombia Partnership for Sustainable Growth. Both countries pledged to continue their innovative work on climate change, while deepening their collaboration to protect key land and marine ecosystems.

The UK-Colombia Partnership for Sustainable Growth, an ambitious agreement signed in 2019, is a strong example of how bilateral collaboration can address the socio environmental challenges of climate change through a cross-cutting agenda that includes forests and biodiversity protection, renewable energy, sustainable mobility and infrastructure, as well as sustainable livelihoods and mobilising finance for climate and nature.

Recognising the need to jointly address the biodiversity and climate crisis, both countries will deepen their bilateral cooperation on climate change and increase efforts to protect and restore nature and biodiversity in land and marine ecosystems.

This will include further work on the illegal wildlife trade, ocean pollution and forest and marine protection, with gender and social inclusion integrated at all stages, including recognising the central role played by indigenous people and local communities in nature conservation.

Building on the important work carried out to-date, the UK is pleased to announce that, from early 2023, we will also start working with WWF Colombia to empower indigenous communities and help them to harness and maximise opportunities from international carbon markets, ensuring fair processes and best practices.

A second project with GAIA has also been confirmed, which seeks to support the official recognition of Indigenous Local Governments in the Amazon, who are currently protecting 11 million hectares of forest and promote improved conditions.

Commenting on the renewal of the UK Colombia Partnership for Sustainable Growth, James Cleverly, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, commented:

The UK and Colombia are working closely together to prevent deforestation, promote a just energy transition and protect Colombia’s incredible biodiversity. I’m delighted to renew the UK Colombia Partnership for Sustainable Growth today to deepen that co-operation even further, on one of the greatest shared challenges we face.

Lord Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment, said:

Colombia is one of the most beautiful places I know and for me it is very important to be here with you at COP27 and to be able to make this Alliance. The Amazon is wonderful, we must protect the paramos, its frailejones and its important water production.

The Colombian Minister, Susana Muhamad, also commented:

The United Kingdom is a strategic ally to focus on the defence of the Amazon and create a new face for this program that seeks to stop deforestation in our country.

The renewed Partnership for Sustainable Growth sets out a clear roadmap for UK Colombian cooperation on climate and nature during President Gustavo Petro’s administration with defined priorities from both countries.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 January 2023.

Ahead of a Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, the signatories to the Women, Peace and Security Shared Commitments delivered the following statement.

Today the Council convenes to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. We, the Security Council signatories of the Statement of Shared Commitments for the principles of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, and in its national capacity, the United States, have come together to express grave concern regarding the critical situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. We urge the Taliban to immediately reverse all oppressive measures against women and girls, adhere to their commitments set out in UNSC 2593 and respect the rights of women and girls, and their full, equal and meaningful participation and inclusion across all aspects of society in Afghanistan, from political and economic, to education and public space.

Such measures include the banning of Afghan women from working in national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Afghanistan, as well as excluding women and girls from universities and secondary schools. Other restrictions have also been put in place limiting women and girls’ ability to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms. They are contrary to Afghanistan’s obligations as party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Women are central and critical to operations to relieve the dire humanitarian situation. They have unique expertise and access to populations their male colleagues cannot reach, providing critical life-saving support to women and girls. Without their participation in aid delivery in Afghanistan and their essential expertise, NGOs will be unable to reach those most in need, in particular women and girls, to provide lifesaving materials and services. We reiterate the Council’s demand on all parties to allow full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian actors regardless of gender. Moreover, a stable, economically viable, and peaceful Afghanistan is only attainable and sustainable if all Afghans, including women and girls, have access to and receive education, and fully, equally, and meaningfully participate in and contribute to the country’s future and development in line with UNSC Resolutions 1325, 2593, and 2626.

As the mandate renewal of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) approaches, we reaffirm our strong support for UNAMA, not least in their valuable contribution to gender equality, the empowerment and protection of women and girls, the full protection of their human rights, including education, work, and their freedom of movement. The full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in all levels and stages of decision-making and governance processes in Afghanistan is necessary for achieving an inclusive political dialogue and participatory governance.

The situation of women and girls in Afghanistan must remain high on the agenda of the Security Council, and we will continue to closely monitor the developments on the ground and respond accordingly. As Council members, we stand with all women and girls in Afghanistan and reaffirm our commitment to prioritizing their rights and needs during our discussions.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 January 2023.

Joint statement by the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights between the European Commission and UK government:

The 11th meeting of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights was held on 17 November 2022 in London, co-chaired by officials from the European Commission and the UK government. A number of representatives from EU member states were also in attendance. The Committee was established by the Withdrawal Agreement to monitor the implementation and application of the Citizens’ Rights part of the Agreement, which protects EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, and their eligible family members.

The EU and the UK discussed the implementation and application of the Citizens’ Rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement. The meeting also allowed both sides to take stock of any outstanding issues.

During the meeting, issues related to residency schemes were discussed.

The EU raised concerns about UK rules on temporary protection for applicants who apply after the deadline and took note that in such cases the UK ensures, under its one-step approach, that certificates of application are issued as soon as a valid application is made, in the same way as for in-time applications. The EU also reiterated its position that those late applicants who are ultimately granted residence status should be treated as lawfully resident in the period between the application deadline and granting of the status.

The EU also enquired about the impact of imprisonment on the ability of EU citizens with pre–settled status to acquire settled status and would share further legal arguments in support of its position that the break of continuity of residence should not affect Withdrawal Agreement status. The EU reiterated its other longstanding concerns related to delays in issuance of residence documents and entry visas and asked the UK about consumer protection rules available to EU citizens and their family members who have been wrongly denied boarding by carriers.

Both parties also had an exchange of views on absence rules.

The UK expressed concern about difficulties UK nationals have experienced evidencing status due to the slow issuance of residence documents in a member state and asked the Commission to do more on this issue. The UK raised the issue of UK nationals who have experienced issues transiting through the Schengen Area and asked the Commission to ensure relevant Annexes of the Schengen Borders Code are updated.

The UK also raised its other longstanding concern, namely non-compliant residence processes in some EU member states.

The UK raised issues encountered by family members of UK nationals protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and took note of a review of the implementation of family reunification processes in all member states, presented by the European Commission. The other concerns raised by the UK were difficulties drawing on multiple statuses, the need for detailed statistics on residence applications in member states and equal treatment.

The UK’s Independent Monitoring Authority, established under Article 159(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the European Commission presented their respective Annual Reports, adopted in accordance with Article 159(2) of the Withdrawal Agreement.

External representatives from civil society organisations, representing EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, attended the meeting of the Committee and asked questions about the implementation and application of Part 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement in the EU and the UK, in conformity with the rules of procedure of the Specialised Committee.

The EU and the UK reaffirmed their commitment to protecting citizens’ rights in accordance with the obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement.

The EU and the UK agreed to meet again in spring 2023.