Tag: 2024

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 16 September 2024.

Statement by UK Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Barbara Woodward, at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

Thank you, President, and like others, I join you in thanking Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator Kaag and Executive Director Da Silva for your briefings. The UK strongly supports the UN’s tireless efforts to scale up aid into Gaza and pays tribute to you and the whole UN community for your work under increasingly difficult circumstances.

As you said, your briefing was sober and sombre. It couldn’t be otherwise describing an intolerable humanitarian situation in Gaza. As we’ve heard, over 41,000 people have now been killed, tens of thousands more are injured. 17,000 children are without parents. And 101 civilians remain hostage in Gaza, subject to horrific and inhumane conditions for almost a year.

We remain concerned too about the risk of wider regional escalation. We condemn the Houthi attack over the weekend, and we reiterate our demand for an immediate ceasefire and for Hamas to release all hostages.

President, we welcome the news that the first round of the UN’s polio vaccine campaign in Gaza has now concluded, facilitated by Israel’s implementation of agreed tactical pauses.

Despite the challenges – including the attack on a UN vaccination convoy last week – this shows that deconfliction can work where there is a political will.

So, first, we now need to see this capacity for deconfliction applied to the wider humanitarian operation. Israel has committed to flood Gaza with aid: but this has not materialised. This is unacceptable.

Second, President, mass Israeli evacuation notices and the use of heavy weaponry mean that nowhere is safe in Gaza. We join the Secretary-General’s call for compliance with international law, especially the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution in attacks. We are horrified by the further killing of aid workers.

Just last week, as colleagues have said, we heard reports of 18 people, including six UNRWA staff members as the Secretary-General reported, killed by an Israeli military strike on the al-Jaouni school-turned shelter.

In total, 300 aid workers have been killed in this conflict. And we repeat our condolences to their families and their loved ones. And we reiterate that humanitarian workers must be allowed to carry out their work safely.

Third, the UK will continue to play a leading role in addressing this humanitarian crisis – including through our renewed funding for UNRWA, and support for other aid agencies providing lifesaving relief, as well as continued advocacy.

Colleagues, we are all rightly focussed on the immediate priority of securing a ceasefire and a hostage release deal. And we fully support US, Qatari and Egyptian efforts and call on both Israel and Hamas to take the deal on the table.

But we must also consider what comes next. There will be an enormous task in helping those in Gaza to rebuild. Early recovery will include clearing unexploded ordinance and rubble and providing essential services.

The rebuilding of Gaza must be accompanied by the rebuilding of hope. Hope for an end to this cycle of violence. Hope for long-term peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

This can be achieved only with a two-state solution, which affords Palestinians their inalienable right to self-determination alongside security for Israel.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 16 September 2024.

Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, Lord Hunt, delivered the UK national statement at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna.

Madame Vice-President,

May I thank you and also thank the Director General and the secretariat for all your work over the past year to ensure the agency’s continued success.

On behalf of the new UK Government, I’m proud to confirm that nuclear power remains an essential part of our Net Zero, energy security and clean power plans.

So we are backing the next generation of nuclear in the UK – in terms of new technologies and fuels, in terms of our enabling policies, and in terms of attracting new talent.

Our nuclear delivery body, Great British Nuclear, is currently evaluating bids submitted in its Small Modular Reactor competition, developing innovative technology to boost Britain’s energy security and sustainability.

And in fusion energy, we are progressing our Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production project. By working with commercial partners, we plan to build a prototype fusion power plant by 2040.

We’ve updated our policies on managing radioactive substances and nuclear decommissioning, driving innovation and sustainability, and providing greater flexibility on disposal options.

We’re looking forward to hosting the Women in Nuclear Global Conference in London in July next year – putting our commitment to increasing gender diversity in the nuclear workforce into action.

This year, we became the first European country to launch a commercial-scale High Assay Low Enriched Uranium, or HALEU, programme – with a landmark £300 million of funding – investing in domestic fuel cycle capabilities that will benefit not just the UK but our allies too, while driving innovation and research.

We are also very proud to be working as part of the Sapporo 5 group to promote genuine supply chain resilience.

Because a carbon neutral future depends not just on a diversified nuclear fuel supply chain that is reliable and resilient – but also one that is free from political influence.

Which is why we have committed to banning Russian uranium from use in UK reactors by 2030, and we encourage members to join us in taking assertive action to reduce dependency on Russia.

Madame Vice-President, while Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, the UK is proud to have supported Ukraine and the IAEA to bolster safety and security at Ukraine’s nuclear sites under increasingly difficult circumstances.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains inaccessible to the Ukrainian authorities due to Russia’s illegal seizure and control.

We continue to call for Russia to withdraw and hand control of the plant back to the competent Ukrainian authorities.

We commend the IAEA’s essential work in Ukraine, including the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia, without which we would have no independent assessment of the situation at the plant.

The UK supports the DG’s efforts to protect nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. Russia’s illegal invasion and reprehensible attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continues to remind us of the vital importance of nuclear safety and security – in Ukraine and across the world.

The UK remains one of the largest contributors to the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Fund. And we continue to support the expansion of nuclear security conventions, including the Amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material.

We continue to call upon all member states to ratify and implement those conventions as soon as possible.

We welcome the success of the International Conference on Nuclear Security earlier this year, and I want to thank the co-Presidents, Australia and Kazakhstan, for their chairmanship.

Whilst it was disappointing that consensus on the ministerial declaration was blocked by one state, we were still very pleased to support the statement issued by the co-Presidents and look forward to continuing to work in this area with member states to make progress.

Madame Vice-President, unfortunately, serious challenges remain to the safeguards regime on which we are all so dependent. We remain deeply concerned by Iran’s refusal to implement its legal safeguards obligations and co-operate with the Agency’s ongoing investigations into undeclared nuclear material and activity detected in Iran.

Iran has failed to provide the IAEA with credible explanations for the material detected over the last 5 years. As a result, the agency cannot assure that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

Separately, Iran continues to escalate its nuclear programme to unprecedented levels. Its enriched Uranium stockpile now exceeds 28 times the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) limit and Iran continues to produce High Enriched Uranium with no credible civilian justification.

We remain determined that Iran will never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon, and committed to finding a diplomatic solution to this increasingly severe threat to international peace and security.

Madame Vice-President, the agency can continue to count on our full support in its efforts to strengthen the nuclear safeguards system.

And we call on all countries that have not yet done so to agree and ratify Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, revised Small Quantities Protocols and Additional Protocols.

It is very important that the IAEA can continue to act independently, apply its unique legal and technical authority, and negotiate safeguards arrangements with member states without interference or politicisation.

As part of the AUKUS partnership, I want to reiterate our commitment to setting the highest standard of non-proliferation and transparency, and to keeping the international community updated as the non-proliferation approach is developed with the IAEA.

As DG Grossi confirmed to the Board in September 2022, naval nuclear propulsion was foreseen by the drafters of the Non- Proliferation Treaty. It was discussed during the negotiations to develop the model Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, resulting in the inclusion of specific mechanisms to enable states to pursue naval propulsion.

Madame Vice-President, the IAEA’s contribution goes beyond safety, security and safeguards. So many countries have benefited from the agency’s technical co-operation and the UK continues to make every effort to amplify and support this important work.

We look forward to November’s ministerial meeting as an opportunity to celebrate the progress and achievements of that programme, as well as looking forward to the IAEA SMR conference in October and the World Fusion Energy Group in November.

We thank again the Secretariat and the Director General for providing these opportunities for further collaboration and offer them our wholehearted support.

Thank you very much.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 16 September 2024.

The UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have issued a joint statement to mark the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini.

The following is the joint statement released by the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, on the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini:

Two years ago today, Mahsa Zhina Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman, was killed while in police custody in Iran. Her death sparked a nationwide protest movement, led by women and girls, which was unwavering in its demand for a better future.

We stand with women and girls in Iran, and Iranian human rights defenders, across all segments of society in their ongoing daily fight for human rights and fundamental freedoms.  At least 500 persons died and over 20,000 were detained in the Iranian security forces’ brutal crackdown on displays of dissent in 2022 and 2023.  But the global “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement remains united.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Iran, established by the United Nations Human Rights Council, has said that many of the human rights violations perpetrated against protesters amount to crimes against humanity.  The Iranian government has yet to address these allegations and has not cooperated with this internationally recognized mandate.

In daily life, women and girls continue to face severe repression in Iran.  The renewed “Noor” hijab crackdown, which enforces Iran’s law requiring women to wear headscarves, has spurred a fresh round of harassment and violence.  The Iranian government has bolstered its surveillance infrastructure to arrest, detain, and in some cases torture women and girls for their peaceful activism.  According to human rights organisations, Iran is one of the foremost executioners of women globally.

We call on the new Iranian administration to fulfil its pledge to ease pressure on civil society in Iran and to end the use of force to enforce the hijab requirement.  The recent surge in executions that have largely occurred without fair trials has been shocking, and we urge the Iranian government to cease its human rights violations now.  We, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, will continue to act in lockstep to hold the Iranian government accountable and will use all relevant national legal authorities to promote accountability for Iranian human rights violators, including through sanctions and visa restrictions.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 16 September 2024.

Lord Collins, the UK Minister for Africa, will visit Ghana on 17th September. This visit, his first to West Africa, will reinforce the enduring partnership between the UK and Ghana.

During his visit, Lord Collins will meet stakeholders including Government Ministers, leaders in Ghana’s tech and innovation sector and food security agencies.

The Minister will also meet civil society organisations that work on issues of importance to both the UK and Ghana, including democracy and security.

Lord Collins will announce funding including:

• £3.8 million, in partnership with Shell Foundation, to make green energy more accessible to Ghanaians
• at least £1 million to support Ghana’s drought response
• £500,000 for a food fortification programme in northern Ghana

Ahead of his visit, Lord Collins, the UK Minister for Africa, said:

The UK and Ghana are close friends, and my visit is all about deepening our partnership for closer stronger collaboration across various sectors, from green growth to food security. Working together, we can address shared challenges and unlock new opportunities for both our nations.

British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, added:

We are thrilled to welcome Lord Collins to Ghana, where he will witness first-hand the breadth and depth of our partnership. The Minister’s choice of Ghana for his first West African visit speaks volumes about the importance of the UK-Ghana relationship to our new Government. The visit will reinforce our shared commitment to a prosperous, sustainable future for both countries.