Tag: 2024

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 July 2024.

UK and 37 other countries invoke the OSCE Vienna Mechanism in respect of serious human rights concerns in Belarus, including torture, physical or sexual violence, lack of basic medical care and privacy, lack of a fair trial, psychological pressure and discrimination.

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the following participating States, who are members of the informal Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and my own country, Slovenia.

The following participating States are also joining this statement: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Moldova, North Macedonia, Switzerland and Ukraine.

In the 1991 Moscow Document, OSCE participating States declared that commitments undertaken in the field of the human dimension are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the State concerned.

In keeping with this commitment, we wish to express our deep concern regarding the severe human rights violations and abuses occurring in Belarus. These were documented by rapporteur Professor Hervé Ascensio after 38 participating States invoked the Moscow Mechanism on 23 March 2023. His report, introduced to the Permanent Council on 11 May 2023, described repression designed to hinder any form of opposition, which led to waves of arrests on political grounds, targeting demonstrators, journalists, other media workers, human rights defenders, representatives of trade unions, lawyers, political opponents, and those expressing their opposition to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, among others. The report recommended the release of all political prisoners and the reform of existing laws in Belarus to bring national criminal legislation and the code of administrative offences in full compliance with international norms and standards.

Regrettably, Belarus has followed neither these recommendations nor a similar call for the release of all the political prisoners issued by 17 UN experts. Other reports from various UN bodies and NGOs have confirmed that the human rights situation in Belarus, in particular the situation of political prisoners, has continued to deteriorate.

To date, six of these individuals have died in detention: Vitold Ashurak, Mikhaïl Klimovich, Ales Pushkin, Vadzim Khrasko, Ihar Lednik and Aliaksandr Kulinich. Many others are being held incommunicado.

Experts have documented that the estimated 1400 political prisoners currently in detention in Belarus experience torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, acts of physical or sexual violence, lack of basic medical care and privacy, lack of a fair trial, psychological pressure and discrimination, with their cells and clothing marked with yellow tags.

While we take note of the recent release of several political prisoners, we consider unsatisfactory the Belarusian authorities’ response to the Moscow Mechanism report of 11 May 2023 and, given our ongoing concerns about developments over the past 12 months, our countries are now invoking the Vienna Mechanism, along with the requirements of Belarus under that Mechanism.

The full text of the letter of invocation, including the names of several persons whose situation is particularly critical, will be circulated to all participating States. But I would like to read the questions it contains.

Since the release of the Moscow Mechanism report on Belarus, on 11 May 2023:

1. What steps have Belarusian authorities taken to ensure that persons deprived of liberty on politically motivated grounds are treated with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity?
2. What steps have Belarusian authorities taken to release political prisoners on humanitarian grounds, including those with serious health issues or chronic conditions, people with disabilities, minors, older persons, people with children or single parents? What update can be provided on the prisoners mentioned in the letter?
3. What steps have Belarusian authorities taken to ensure that specific needs of female detainees, including psychological and medical needs, are taken into account?
4. What steps have been taken to ensure that all detainees have access to necessary and appropriate medication and medical care?
5. What steps have been taken to ensure decent conditions of detention for all prisoners? Do authorities in charge of detention facilities provide all prisoners, without exception, with blankets, mattresses, and sanitary articles? Which measures have been taken against overcrowding?
6. In the light of documented cases of ill-treatment which may in some instances amount to torture, including sleep deprivation, what steps have Belarusian authorities taken to investigate all allegations and to prevent such treatment in the future?
7. What criteria govern the use of solitary confinement, punishment cells and cell-like premises? As these have been identified as potentially inhumane conditions of detention, what steps have been taken to reduce their use?
8. What steps have been taken to ensure that every prisoner has access to legal counsel of their own choosing, to effective remedies and a fair trial? What steps have been taken to ensure that prisoners are able to maintain contact with family members?
9. Will Belarusian authorities refrain from implementing the procedure of deprivation of citizenship of Belarusian nationals living abroad as a sanction for so called “participation in extremist activity or infliction of grievous harm to the interests of the Republic of Belarus”?
10. Will Belarus end repressive measures taken against family members in order to exert pressure on defendants and political prisoners?
11. As a measure of transparency, would Belarus allow visits to detention facilities by representatives of international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, and foreign States in detention facilities?

We expect to receive information in response to these serious concerns in writing within ten days, in accordance with the Vienna Mechanism.

I request this statement and the corresponding invocation letter be attached to the journal of the day.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 July 2024.

Ambassador Holland remembers the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and pays tribute to the courage and resilience shown by families and survivors.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Today we remember the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and honour the survivors. This year we are marking 11 July more formally for the first time as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, following the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution on 23 May. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found that several individuals were guilty of genocide in Srebrenica. Acknowledgement of that fact should not be a cause for tension and division. Rather, it is a basis on which true reconciliation can be achieved.

Mr Chair, 29 years ago in Srebrenica, genocide took place in Europe for the first time since 1945. It claimed the lives of over 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys, and led to the displacement of over 20,000 women and children who were forcibly expelled from their homes. We honour the memory of those killed, and pay tribute to the extraordinary courage and resilience shown by their families and by survivors. We stand with the families in their ongoing fight for justice.

The UK is committed to supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina in its efforts to build a secure, stable, inclusive society, and heal the fractures caused by conflict. It is regrettable that we continue to see divisive and dangerous nationalist rhetoric, secessionist moves, and open challenges to the constitutional order established by the Dayton Peace Agreement. The UK is committed to a single, sovereign Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will continue to take action in support of that. We also continue to urge political leaders to condemn any glorification of the perpetrators of war crimes, and to take action against genocide denial.

Mr Chair, as was the case in 2022 and 2023, we are marking this date in the shadow of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. We must learn the lessons of history. Terrible events such as the genocide at Srebrenica show the consequences of inaction. We owe it to the victims to create societies that are stable, inclusive and cohesive, and to fight against prejudice, hatred, fear and division wherever we find it. Remaining true to our shared commitment to the concept of comprehensive security, articulated by the Helsinki principles and central to membership of the OSCE, is the best way to do this. The greatest tribute we can give to those who lost their lives is to do everything we can to prevent such a horrific crime from ever being repeated.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 July 2024.

The UK government announces a £2 million package to support up to 150,000 Sudanese refugees in Libya fleeing violence.

• UK to contribute £2 million support to refugees in Libya fleeing violence in Darfur, Sudan
• funding will support much-needed emergency health, water and sanitation services
• alongside international partners aid will deliver support to up to 150,000 refugees

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds has today [Friday 12 July] pledged new UK aid funding to provide life-saving assistance to up to 150,000 Sudanese refugees who are fleeing escalating violence in Darfur.

It’s estimated that more than 2 million people have fled Sudan due to the violence which erupted following a coup in April last year, including more than 1,200 people entering Libya daily.

This forms part of the government’s commitment to work with international partners to address the humanitarian crises which lead people to flee their homes, and to strengthen support for refugees in their home region.

This £2 million package will go towards the humanitarian response in the hard-to-reach Alkufra region, where the UN estimates up to 45,000 refugees are currently in desperate need of support.

Health provision in Alkufra is minimal and was struggling even before the humanitarian crisis. Under the strain of thousands of refugees, in need of medical assistance, the system is now on the verge of collapse.

Alongside international partners, this funding will help deliver much-needed emergency health, water, sanitation, hygiene, and child protection services to an estimated 150,000 individuals taking refuge in Eastern Libya, as well as the communities hosting them.

The Minister of State for Development, Anneliese Dodds, said:

The UK is committed to delivering life-saving aid to some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including children, as they flee violence in war-torn Sudan.

Alongside our international partners, this support in Libya will deliver much-needed water and emergency health, sanitation and hygiene services to these displaced refugees.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 July 2024.

Ambassador Holland sets out how President Putin’s preconditions for negotiations with Ukraine flagrantly violate OSCE principles.

Thank you, Madam Chair.  Last month, President Putin delivered a statement to senior Russian officials on the settlement of his war in Ukraine.  He did so as leaders from around the world prepared to travel to Switzerland for the Peace Summit to discuss the foundations of a sustainable peace in Ukraine.

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the statement, and its timing, was an unsuccessful attempt to try to undermine the Peace Summit.  But since the proposals and themes in it continue to be repeated, we in this room should assess and judge them against the principles guiding relations between participating States – also known as the Decalogue – since these are the foundational principles of this organisation to which we all committed in the interests of our shared security.

President Putin stated that there was no plan to storm Kyiv.  In his words, this was “nothing else but an operation to coerce the Ukrainian regime into peace”.  This is in direct contravention of Article Two of the Decalogue. This says: “No such threat or use of force will be employed as a means of settling disputes”. Madam Chair, peace cannot be achieved down the barrel of a gun.

Among the preconditions for beginning peace negotiations stated in the speech are that Ukraine withdraws its troops completely from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. These are all regions that, in addition to Crimea, fall within Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders.  Article Three of the Decalogue says States should “refrain from any demand for, or act of, seizure and usurpation of part or all of the territory of any participating State.”  And Article Four says they should “refrain from making each other’s territory the object of military occupation or other direct or indirect measures of force”.

Another of Russia’s conditions for peace is that Ukraine “abandons its plans to join NATO”.  Article One of the Decalogue on sovereign equality provides for: “the right to be or not to be a party to treaties of alliance.”

Madam Chair, there are many more such examples, not to mention factual inaccuracies.  The point is that this set of proposals is incompatible with the principles which we have all agreed to abide by, including the imperialistic threat that “Ukraine’s existence in the future” depends on its response to Russian aggression. No matter what our geography or political allegiances are, we should all be deeply concerned at how seriously Russia treats its commitments when those commitments become inconvenient.

It is for Ukraine to determine its own path to peace.  The only peace in Ukraine that will last is one that respects the UN Charter and the OSCE’s principles, a point the global community underlined in Switzerland.  If President Putin wants to deliver that peace, he can do so today by bringing Russia back into alignment with the OSCE Decalogue, which Russia helped draft, and withdrawing from Ukraine.

Thank you.