Tag: 2024

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

France, Germany and the UK (E3) gave a joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Iran’s implementation of its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA.

Chair,

On behalf of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, I thank Director General Grossi for his latest report on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The E3 are very grateful to the Agency for the professional, independent and impartial work of their team of inspectors and for their objective reporting on Iran’s nuclear programme. We encourage the Director General to keep the Board informed of all relevant activities and developments.

Once again, the IAEA reports the continued expansion of Iran’s nuclear activities, in increasing violation of its JCPoA commitments. The Agency recalls once again that it is not able to ensure Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful, and highlights that Iran is the only state without nuclear weapons to undertake production and accumulation of high enriched uranium.

Chair,

In the reporting period, Iran has continued to enrich uranium far beyond its JCPoA commitments :

• It has been blatantly violating all JCPoA limits on both enrichment and accumulation of enriched uranium. Its stockpile of high enriched uranium up to 60 % has continued to grow significantly, without any credible civilian justification;
• Iran now has almost four IAEA significant quantities of high enriched uranium, which the IAEA defines as the approximate amount of nuclear material from which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded;
• Over the last three months, Iran has also substantially expanded its overall production capacity by installing and operating new advanced centrifuges;
• For the first time in years, the DG also reported that Iran undertook some construction work at the Khondab Heavy Water Research Center, without communicating all the needed information to the Agency.

We also recall previous IAEA reports of Iran’s uranium metal-related work. The production of Uranium metal is a key step in the development of a nuclear weapon and we urge Iran not to undertake this work again.

Chair,

Iran continues obstructing the IAEA, which has detrimental implications for the Agency’s ability to provide assurance of the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme :

• For more than three and a half years, Iran has seriously hindered effective JCPoA verification and monitoring;
• As a result of this lack of transparency, the Agency has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate;
• Iran refuses to reverse its decision to withdraw the designation of several experienced Agency inspectors. We condemn this decision, which seriously affects the Agency’s ability to conduct its verification in Iran, particularly at the enrichment facilities;
• The DG also notes that it has been more than three years since Iran stopped applying its Additional Protocol.

Chair,

We would like to remind this Board of the statements made in Iran about its technical capability to produce nuclear weapons and the possibility of changing its so-called nuclear doctrine.

We again call on Iran to urgently:

• Halt and reverse its nuclear escalation and refrain from making threats to produce nuclear weapons;
• Return to the limits imposed by the JCPoA, in particular those regarding enrichment;
• Implement the March 2023 Joint statement and the commitments it made regarding transparency and cooperation with the IAEA including re-applying all transparency measures that it stopped in February 2021;
• Allow the Agency to install surveillance and monitoring equipment where requested;
• Re-implement and swiftly ratify its Additional Protocol; and
• Reverse its September 2023 decision to withdraw the designations of experienced inspectors.

Chair,

Iran’s escalating nuclear activities significantly harm international security and undermine the global non-proliferation architecture. We will continue consultations, alongside international partners, on how best to address collective doubts of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. In 2022, Iran twice refused a negotiated outcome and instead chose to escalate and expand its nuclear programme to alarming levels. We remain committed to a diplomatic solution and stand ready to use all diplomatic levers available to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Finally, we ask the Director General to keep the Board of Governors informed on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme. We ask for the report to be made public.

Thank you.

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

UK Statement for Item 2 General Debate. Delivered at the 57th Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Thank you, Mr President.

The continued growth in this Council’s agenda reflects more, not less, human rights violations and abuses throughout the world.

Russia continues to disregard the UN Charter through its illegal invasion of Ukraine. As the Commission of Inquiry concluded, many Russian atrocities amount to war crimes. Those responsible must be held accountable.

The UK condemns, and demands full investigation of, all alleged violations and abuses committed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories including sexual violence. We are shocked at ongoing deaths, including the killing of six hostages by Hamas. The ongoing suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is appalling. We call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and rapid humanitarian aid into Gaza.

High Commissioner,

We welcome your engagement with Venezuela. Elections cannot be credible without the National Electoral Council publishing full results. The Venezuelan people have the right to protest and decide their future. We urge dialogue and an end to repression.

And finally, China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and Tibetans, restrict civil society and independent media, and target human rights defenders and lawyers. Two years after the Office of the High Commissioner’s Assessment on Xinjiang, it is time for China to implement its recommendations and engage meaningfully with the Office.

Thank you.

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

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has today summoned the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires in London in response to Iran’s transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia.

An FCDO spokesperson said:

Today, in coordination with European partners and upon instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Mr. Ali Matinfar was summoned over Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.

The UK Government was clear that any transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia would be seen as a dangerous escalation and would face a significant response.

The summons follows yesterday’s announcement where the UK, alongside international partners, outlined significant new measures against Iran and Russia, including cancelling our bilateral Air Services Arrangement with Iran. The United Kingdom has also sanctioned a number of key individuals and organisations for their involvement in Iran’s military support to Russia, including those involved in weapons supply chains that enable Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.

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

Politico-Military Counsellor, Ankur Narayan, thanks Denmark as the incoming Chair for upholding the Forum’s mandate of holding a weekly politico-military dialogue, including on risk reduction.

Thank you, Mr Chair, and to the Foreign Minister for setting out Denmark’s priorities for the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) this Trimester. You can count on the UK’s full support, as you execute the mandate of this Forum at this important time for European Security.

As we return from the Summer break, the Ukrainian people have had no respite. Today marks 930 days of their ongoing defence of their homeland, from an invasion which continues to violate the UN Charter and to contravene the Helsinki Final Act’s core principles. Principles including those on sovereignty, territorial integrity and the non-use of force.

That is why each week, we have met in the Forum to support Ukraine and to hold Russia accountable. And that is why we welcome Denmark’s proposed FSC agenda topics, on the Code of Conduct, the Helsinki Decalogue and on Women, Peace & Security. These issues remain pertinent for our Euro-Atlantic region.

Mr Chair, the UK continues to support the Forum. Our Ministers mandated the Forum to hold a weekly politico-military dialogue, with tasks that include risk-reduction. They mandated the Chair to ‘ensure the good order and smooth running of meetings’. To set the agenda. And to select and invite guest speakers. We support the Chair’s prerogative to execute these tasks.

Unfortunately, at the closing session last Trimester, we had to condemn the Russian delegation – for a third Trimester in a row – for its attempts to undermine FSC meetings.  Russia did not join consensus not only the formal FSC Security Dialogues, but also the standard weekly FSC sessions. Russia demanded exceptional treatment, without any basis in the Rules of Procedure and without articulating any issues with the mandated Agenda.

As we said last time, there remains another path. Russia claims that it wants peace.  Peace is in its gift – by withdrawing all of its forces to outside of Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders. Russia claims that it is serious about dialogue and risk reduction. If that is true, it must re-engage seriously and professionally with an FSC that meets, as mandated by our Ministers, each week.

I wish to conclude by welcoming Spain to the FSC Troika, and to thank Cyprus for their work as they leave the Troika. And most importantly, I wish you, Mr Chair, and your able teams here in Vienna and in Copenhagen the best of luck this Trimester. You can count on the continued full support of the UK delegation.

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

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on the report of the High Commissioner on Nicaragua.

Thank you, Mr President.

The attack on human rights in Nicaragua is relentless. The closure of over 5,000 NGOs since 2018, including 1,820 NGOs in August 2024 alone, is a clear indicator of this repression.

The arbitrary detention of political leaders and members of the church are of great concern. We welcome the release last week of dozens of political prisoners but are alarmed by their exile from Nicaragua. We call for an end to arbitrary arrests and the restitution of all the civic rights of political prisoners. The policy of exiling and removing the citizenship of individuals is unacceptable.

The growing climate of repression, intimidation, and harassment is also affecting Nicaraguans in exile and we urge the Nicaraguan authorities to immediately cease these practices.

High Commissioner,

We would welcome your views on what more can be done to prevent further arbitrary arrests and how we can preserve civic space in Nicaragua?

Thank you.