Tag: 2024

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

Victoria Harrison will become UK ambassador to Slovenia in August 2024, accompanied by her guide dog Otto.

• Victoria Harrison will become the UK’s first totally blind ambassador, leading the UK government’s relationship with Slovenia from August 2024
• she will be the first ambassador to be accompanied by a guide dog, her 2-year-old labrador golden retriever cross ‘Otto’
• approximately 15% of the Foreign Office’s UK-based workforce has a declared disability, as the government department aims to become more representative of the UK

In a historic milestone for the UK Diplomatic Service, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has appointed the first totally blind British ambassador, the most senior position within a British Embassy overseas.

Victoria Harrison, born in Dumfries, will become His Majesty’s Ambassador to Slovenia from August 2024, charged with leading the UK government’s work to promote UK interests in the country.

Victoria also becomes the first ambassador to serve in the position with a guide dog. She will be accompanied by 2-year-old labrador golden retriever cross Otto, matched to her by British charity Guide Dogs.

Following the appointment, Victoria Harrison said:

It’s an honour to represent the UK as our next ambassador to Slovenia. During my career I’m pleased to have witnessed the Diplomatic Service become much more reflective of the diversity of the country we serve and I’m proud to be part of this change.

Thanks to Guide Dogs for providing me with my second life-changing guide dog, Otto, who will be accompanying me, and my colleagues who have supported me on this journey. I can’t wait to get started in Slovenia later this year, with Otto in tow!

Deputy Chief Executive at Guide Dogs, Pete Osborne said:

Victoria has had an incredible career so far and we’re thrilled that she will have her guide dog Otto by her side on this next step as the UK ambassador to Slovenia.

It’s clear they have an extraordinary bond and have achieved remarkable things together. Our guide dogs not only help people with a vision impairment to live the life they choose but can truly change a person’s life. We wish Victoria all the very best.

Joining the UK Diplomatic Service in 1997, Victoria was the first person with a declared disability to be recruited by the Foreign Office following the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act putting into law equality for those with disabilities.

Her career has included postings to Helsinki and Sarajevo, as well as working on the Ukraine response and Afghanistan on her path to reaching the senior rank today.

Today, approximately 15% of UK-based Foreign Office staff have a declared disability, which includes 10% of those serving in senior positions. The FCDO is committed to having a workforce which reflects the diversity of the UK.

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

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN General Assembly meeting on North Korea’s illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

On 28 March, Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution to renew the mandate for the important work of the 1718 committee’s Panel of Experts, which upholds the global non-proliferation regime. This veto completely disregards resolutions Russia has previously voted for; resolutions which protect the non-proliferation regime and international peace and security.

As a result of Russia’s veto, the UN membership will no longer receive reports from the Panel about North Korea’s accelerating nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. It will not receive Panel updates about North Korea’s and Russia’s sanction evasion practices, which now risk going unreported.

This veto was designed to conceal Russia’s partnership with North Korea and make it easier for North Korea to escalate its unlawful weapons programmes. In turn, this enables Russia to breach and evade UN sanctions to get arms and ammunition from North Korea for its illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Security Council, and this Assembly, know Russia has procured several dozen ballistic missiles and millions of artillery shells from North Korea, for direct use against Ukraine, Ukraine’s people, and civilian infrastructure.

So with this veto, Russia has abused its position as a permanent member of this Council to undermine the global non-proliferation regime and global security.

But let’s be clear to Russia: the UN sanctions regime remains in place. And the UK remains committed to holding North Korea to account for its attempts to evade UN sanctions.

In conclusion, President, I wish to extend our deep gratitude to the 1718 Panel of Experts, and to the United States for their work as penholder in the Security Council. The Panel’s credible, objective, and independent reporting enabled the international community to monitor the implementation of UN sanctions and helped to prevent North Korea’s unlawful and dangerous development of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

We will continue to work with all Member States to ensure oversight and implementation of UN sanctions on North Korea in support of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and to uphold international peace and security.

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

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Thank you, President.

I would like to join others in thanking DPPA and OCHA for their informative briefings.

Colleagues, again, this Council meets following a brutal campaign of airstrikes by Russia, a permanent member of this Council, against Ukraine. Since 20 March, these attacks have intensified, with over 1,000 missiles, drones, and guided aerial bombs dropped in one week alone. Dozens of civilians, including children, have been injured or killed in the last days alone. As a result of Russia’s continued aggression, approximately 40% of Ukraine’s population will need humanitarian assistance this year.

I would like to make three points. First, Russia is deliberately targeting energy infrastructure. Just this morning, Russia’s strikes destroyed Trypillya power plant, one of Ukraine’s largest providers of electricity and heat to civilians. Russia’s attacks are leaving millions of people without power and water, cutting electricity to hospitals, threatening the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and delaying life-saving humanitarian operations. We urge Russia to immediately cease its targeting of civilian infrastructure and comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Second, since Russia’s invasion, the international community has come together in support of the people of Ukraine. The UK has committed over £350 million in humanitarian aid since February 2022 to support the valiant efforts of the UN and international and local NGOs to help those people in the most dire humanitarian need. But millions of these people are currently living on the frontlines and in Ukrainian territory illegally controlled by Russia, where Russia continues to deny humanitarian access. Russia needs to heed the repeated calls of Council members, to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, so humanitarian aid can reach those who need it most.

Third, Russian aggression in Ukraine is enabled by repression at home. The Russian authorities are curtailing freedoms of association, assembly and expression. They also continue to disregard British national Vladimir Kara-Murza’s declining health in Russian prison. On today, the second anniversary of Vladimir’s arrest, we urge the Russian authorities to release him immediately on humanitarian grounds. Madam President, Ukraine is facing a protracted humanitarian emergency. There is an easy solution to this suffering: for Russia to end this war, withdraw from Ukrainian territory, and respect its commitments under international law and the UN Charter.

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

Justin Addison, UK Delegation to the OSCE, outlines the UK’s approach to asset recovery to the OSCE’s Economic and Environmental Committee.

One of the enduring challenges in tackling corruption is untangling the complex web of corporate structures used to launder criminal proceeds and hide stolen assets. In the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the UK is fully committed to recovering and returning corruptly-obtained assets in accordance with due process. Whilst this can take time, it ensures a fair and transparent approach.

The UK published its first ever Framework for Transparent and Accountable Asset Return in January 2022. This document is a key transparency indicator which sets out the UK’s policy for returning assets, including the stakeholders to be engaged, deduction of reasonable expenses by law enforcement, and potential mechanisms for return. In September we published statistics on the proceeds.

These are a few ways the UK is helping combat corruption and recovering assets.

The UK’s National Economic Crime Centre ensures beneficial ownership data both in the UK and around the world is not only transparent and reliable, but also published in a structured, machine-readable format which meets the Beneficial Ownership Data Standards.

We are developing a new capability dedicated to asset tracing, using new technology and datasets from private sector vendors to provide access to more data than is currently possible, and so identify more criminal assets for recovery.

Last year the UK published the Economic Crime Plan 2, which establishes a new Crypto Cell, combining law enforcement agencies and regulators to pool expertise and enforcement tools to tackle the criminal abuse of crypto assets.

To support Ukraine with its reconstruction following Russia’s illegal and brutal war of aggression, the UK is funding a Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management online platform, to provide end-to-end transparency on the planning, selection, procurement, and delivery of all reconstruction projects. As of last July, more than 1,600 projects are being tracked, allowing oversight by government, civil society and international partners.

Finally, this is an area of work that requires international cooperation. The UK encourages participating States to give due consideration to civil measures, i.e. non-conviction-based confiscation, that may be used to recover assets, and to recognise UK civil orders where possible. This gives law enforcement a further tool to tackle corruption.

Thank you.

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

Mr David McIlroy has been appointed Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the British Embassy Asmara in Eritrea, in succession to Mr Joel Harding. Mr McIlroy will take up his appointment during April 2024.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: David Thomas McIlroy

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

UK and other OSCE participating States call for immediate release of Vladimir Kara-Murza and denounce the degrading and inhumane conditions in which he is held.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am delivering this statement on behalf of Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the United States and my own country the United Kingdom.

Today marks the second anniversary of the arrest of dual British-Russian national Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Mr Kara-Murza is a champion of human rights. He strives for a democratic Russia and opposes the illegal invasion of Ukraine. He was arrested and later sentenced to 25 years in prison for engaging in legitimate criticism of the political situation in Russia.

Since then, the Russian authorities have callously disregarded Mr Kara-Murza’s declining health, refusing him the urgent medical treatment he so desperately needs. Having been poisoned in 2015 and 2017, his degrading and inhumane prison conditions are clearly designed to inflict further damage to both his physical and mental health.

Two years since his arrest, we urge the Russian authorities to release him immediately on humanitarian grounds.

As this Council knows only too well, the human rights situation in Russia has deteriorated significantly in the past two years. The authorities have persisted in severely curtailing the freedoms of association, assembly and expression. And Russia continues to fail to uphold fundamental human dimension commitments.

Working together, the UK and others will continue to hold Russia to account through the OSCE as well as other international fora. In particular, we look forward to discussing the Moscow Mechanism expert report on allegations of arbitrary detention of Ukrainian civilians by the Russian Federation in this Council.

And we recall the invocation of the Vienna Mechanism by 41 participating States on 22 March 2024 in respect of serious human rights concerns including political repression as well as torture and mistreatment of prisoners in Russia.

The United Kingdom and Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United States stand united in calling for Mr Kara-Murza’s immediate humanitarian release as well as the release of those imprisoned in Russia on political grounds.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.