Tag: 2024

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 June 2024.

UK military advisor, Nicholas Aucott, says Russia has chosen to construct a false narrative of victimhood as it attacks its smaller neighbour, stifling debate as the facts around its illegal invasion are unpalatable and laid bare for all to see.

Thank you, Mr Chair. Since we met in this forum last week Russia has continued to press across the front line. However, it does so reaping little strategic gain and at significant cost.

Where Russia has attempted to attack military targets, the results have been notably modest. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have repelled Russia’s attacks on the village of Starytsia, close to Vovchansk, inflicting significant losses on Russia’s forces. Only three weeks’ ago, I mentioned that Russia was on track to sustain half a million casualties by 2025. Throughout May, however, Russia’s casualties have averaged over 1,200 per day – the highest reported since the start of the war – and that figure of 500,000 has now already likely been reached.

However, Russia’s offensive in Kharkiv has also had a devastating impact on the local civilian population as they have resorted to pulverising residential areas and striking non-military targets. In the last two weeks, Russia has struck a Ukrainian home improvement store, hit a residential apartment block, and turned a Ukrainian printing house to rubble, instantly killing dozens of civilians in the process. These attacks show not only a wilful disregard for civilian lives but the real intention behind Russia’s war – to terrorise the innocent and attack Ukrainian culture and identity in all its forms.

Mr Chair, this senseless and illegal invasion could end tomorrow if Russia chose to withdraw its forces from Ukraine’s territory. Unfortunately, we have seen no will from Russia to do so. Rather, it is attempting to double down, regardless of the misery it inflicts on the Ukrainian population and its own people.

Russia has chosen to construct a false narrative of victimhood as it attacks its smaller neighbour. It has chosen to weaponise this Forum, to stifle discussion and debate because the facts around its illegal invasion are unpalatable and laid bare for all the delegates here to see.

The United Kingdom will maintain its support for Ukraine in the face of this aggression, along with all of those who believe in international law and the principles upon which this organisation was founded. Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 June 2024.

The leaders of G7 countries issued a joint statement on Gaza.

We, the Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), fully endorse and will stand behind the comprehensive deal outlined by President Biden that would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance for distribution throughout Gaza, and an enduring end to the crisis, with Israel’s security interests and Gazan civilian safety assured. We reaffirm our support for a credible pathway towards peace leading to a two State solution.

We call on Hamas to accept this deal, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 June 2024.

Mr Gareth Ward has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to Georgia in succession to Mr Mark Clayton.

Mr Gareth Ward has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to Georgia in succession to Mr Mark Clayton. Mr Ward will take up his appointment during August 2024.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Gareth Edward Ward

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 June 2024.

The UK is proud to support the work of authorities across the Pacific who are working to challenge the threat posed by corruption and money laundering.

A three-day conference has commenced in Fiji, with discussions focused on the role that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can play in the fight against corruption across the Pacific.

Bringing together senior officials from across the region’s anti-corruption sector, alongside regional and international experts in the field of digitalization, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office in Fiji is leading the way on efforts to harness new approaches to combatting corruption.

With support from the Government of the United Kingdom, via the UNDP-implemented Pacific Anti-Corruption Project, UNDP Pacific is working across the region to improve public financial management and address corruption. This approach includes using technology to assist in budget preparation, promoting the right to information and accountability, and strengthening anti-corruption institutions and civil society engagement in social transparency.

The pace of technological advancement has been relentless in the 21st Century, transforming the way we live, work, and communicate. From the rapid proliferation of smartphones and the rise of social media to the more-recent emergence of the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), technology has become an integral part of our daily lives.

However, those yet to be connected remain cut off from the benefits of this new era, and remain further behind – in the Pacific alone, 40 percent of our region’s population remains ‘digitally excluded’. Connectivity, and the need to temper the view of digital as a one-size-fits-all fix will be an essential aspect of the three-day event.

His Excellency Dr. Brian Jones, British High Commissioner to Fiji, in his opening remarks said:

We see all over the world the horrible consequences of money laundering and corruption; it hits the poorest people hardest and compounds harm on the most vulnerable, including women and girls in our communities. Illicit funds are used to enable a whole range of threats, including funding serious organised crime – trafficking of narcotics and cyber attacks. In the Pacific we’re working to increase the flow of climate finance to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change and the use of mobile money for payments and remittances grows, so too does the risk that these areas can be exploited by criminal actors.

Therefore, we must use this opportunity of our partnership, which the UK is proud to support, to share knowledge, foster new relationships, build integrity and bring together the Pacific family to share regional best practice and experience and build our defences to illicit Finance.

Munkhtuya Altangerel, Resident Representative, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, opened the conference and said:

While we must adapt and innovate to keep up with the relentless march of progress, we must also be cautious when it comes to digitalization and technology. The digital revolution offers powerful tools to combat corruption, but these tools alone won’t win the fight. We need strong institutions, empowered citizens, and a commitment from Pacific Island nations to work together, and this conference offers the opportunity to forge a path toward a more transparent and accountable future in the Pacific.

Tackling corruption in the Pacific: Can technology and artificial intelligence facilitate a breakthrough? is supported by the Government of the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union. The three-day conference will conclude on 31 May.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 2 June 2024.

UK statement on adoption of International Health Regulations amendments. Delivered on 1 June 2024 at the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

The UK would like to thank the Bureau and Working Group for all their work.

The International Health Regulations are an important technical framework that helps to prevent and protect against the spread of disease.

This set of proposed amendments updates the regulations to reflect lessons learned, including from COVID-19.

Every Member State, including the UK, now has the right under the Regulations to evaluate each and every amendment before making a sovereign choice of whether to accept or opt out of each of – or all of – the amendments.

In the UK, we have a general election on 4th July and we are therefore in a formal pre-election period. It will be for the elected government to make that choice.

The UK recognises the importance of ongoing cooperation including as we continue to discuss a new pandemic accord following the delay agreed this week.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 June 2024.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury is in Guatemala at the beginning of a 12-day tour to Central America.

The Archbishop will meet Anglican churches, ecumenical communities and religious and political leaders. The British Ambassador, Nick Whittingham, joined him today at a meeting with the President of Guatemala, His Excellency Bernardo Arévalo.

His visit will take him to El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama as well. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury.

The full statement from the Church of England here.