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Tag: 2025

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK and Vietnam sign joint communiqué at annual migration dialogue [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK and Vietnam sign joint communiqué at annual migration dialogue [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Home Office on 4 March 2025.

    Today, the UK and Vietnam have signed a joint communiqué to build on joint work to tackle irregular migration.

    The UK has today (4 March) signed a joint communiqué with the Government of Vietnam at the third annual UK-Vietnam Migration Dialogue, hosted in Hanoi, agreeing to build on our joint work to prevent the exploitation of irregular migrants, disrupt criminal gang operations, strengthen intelligence sharing and return those with no right to be in the UK.

    The joint communiqué includes a series of commitments to further co-operation.

    Preventing and responding to Vietnamese nationals migrating to the UK irregularly through:

    a) targeted deterrence communications

    b) raising awareness of legal routes

    c) working together to tackle human trafficking

    Strengthening co-operation in law enforcement, especially immigration crimes, through:

    a) increasing operational law enforcement co-operation

    b) co-operating with transit countries

    c) sharing information on human trafficking

    d) disrupting criminal gangs

    Returning Vietnamese nationals with no legal right to be in the UK to Vietnam through:

    a) expediting issuance of travel documents

    b) exploring further ways to improve returns co-operation

    c) holding regular returns working groups

    The UK and Government of Vietnam reaffirmed the strong bilateral partnership and agreed to ensure progress on the aforementioned areas at the next migration dialogue, to be hosted by the UK in 2026.

  • PRESS RELEASE : £1.5 billion to restore pride in Britain’s neighbourhoods [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : £1.5 billion to restore pride in Britain’s neighbourhoods [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 4 March 2025.

    The government has announced £1.5 billion funding for 75 selected communities through the Plan for Neighbourhoods.

    • Turning the tide on a decade of decline, £1.5bn funding will foster stronger, better connected and healthier communities across the UK.
    • High streets, local parks, youth clubs, cultural venues, libraries and health and wellbeing services in scope of regeneration, creating local growth and opportunities through new Plan for Neighbourhoods.
    • New neighbourhood boards across the 75 selected communities will bring together residents and businesses to decide how to spend the money in their area.
    • The latest step in the government’s ambitious Plan for Change, kickstarting national renewal, taking back control of our streets and putting more money in local people’s pockets

    Local people to see their high streets revived, community hubs saved and public services transformed and strengthened through the Plan for Neighbourhoods, announced today.

    £1.5 billion to be handed to towns across the UK to tackle deprivation and turbocharge growth as every area joins the decade of national renewal committed to in our Plan for Change.

    A total of 75 areas will each receive up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade through the plan, with ministers vowing it will help transform “left behind” areas by unleashing their full potential by investing in delivering improved vital community services from education, health and employment, to tackling local issues like crime. Transformation will be holistic, long-term, and sustainable to deliver meaningful change in the day-to-day lives of local people.

    Communities across the four nations from Scunthorpe in England, Irvine in Scotland, Wrexham in Wales, and Coleraine and Derry~Londonderry in Northern Ireland are among the areas set to benefit.

    This is the latest step in the government’s ambitious Plan for Change missions to grow the UK economy, deliver safer streets and create opportunities for everyone.

    The Plan for Neighbourhoods doubles the scope of the types of projects that can benefit and is now fully aligned with the government’s long-term Plan for Change missions: breaking down barriers to opportunity and kickstarting economic growth.

    Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner said:

    “For years, too many neighbourhoods have been starved of investment, despite their potential to thrive and grow. Communities across the UK have so much to offer – rich cultural capital, unique heritage but most of all, an understanding of their own neighbourhood.

    “We will do things differently, our fully funded Plan for Neighbourhoods puts local people in the driving seat of their potential, having control of where the Whitehall cash goes – what issues they want to tackle, where they want to regenerate and what growth they want turbocharge.”

    Minister for Local Growth and Building Safety, Alex Norris said:

    “When our local neighbourhoods thrive, the rest of the country thrives too. That’s why we are empowering communities to take control of their futures and create the regeneration and growth they want to see.

    “Our Plan for Neighbourhoods we will deliver long-term funding that will bolster that inner community spirit in us all and relight the fires in corners of the UK that have for too long been left fighting for survival.

    “This, along with our ambitious reforms to streamline the planning system, devolve powers and strengthen workers’ rights, will help get places and people thriving once again.”

    In each area, the government will help set up a new ‘Neighbourhood Board’, bringing together residents, local businesses, and grassroots campaigners to draw up and implement a new vision for their neighbourhood.  Mayors will have a formal role in town boards allowing local people to take advantage of the powers devolved from Westminster.

    Each board will decide how to spend up to £20 million – they can choose from options ranging from repairs to pavements and high streets, to setting up community grocers providing low-cost alternatives when shopping for essentials, as well as co-operatives or even neighbourhood watches.

    By creating thriving places, strengthening communities, and empowering people to take back control, areas can now drive forward their own priorities.

    Through our ambitious devolution plans already underway, creating the greatest shift in power from Whitehall to local areas across England – change and growth for every corner of the country is already being seen. Leaders with skin in the game are finally able to take the lead on decision making, tackling the issues that matter to voters, breaking down barriers to opportunity and boosting economic growth.

    Further information

    The Plan for Neighbourhoods delivers on the commitments made to these deprived communities from the previous administration’s Long-Term Plan for Towns, which it was confirmed at the 2024 Autumn Budget would be retained and reformed.

    Ministers have also published a list of regeneration powers that communities will be encouraged to use, like the power to save pubs by listing them as community assets, and the use of respect orders to tackle repeat offenders.

    Funding will be released from April 2025 with delivery investment commencing in 2026, and areas included in the Plan for Neighbourhoods were chosen after considering key factors including rates of deprivation and healthy life expectancy.

    All 75 areas receiving funding are as follows:

    Scotland:

    • Arbroath
    • Elgin
    • Kirkwall (Orkney Islands)
    • Peterhead
    • Dumfries
    • Irvine
    • Kilmarnock
    • Clydebank
    • Coatbridge
    • Greenock

    Wales:

    • Barry
    • Wrexham
    • Rhyl
    • Cwmbrân
    • Merthyr Tydfil

    Northern Ireland:

    • Derry~Londonderry
    • Coleraine

    North East:

    • Blyth
    • Darlington
    • Eston
    • Hartlepool
    • Jarrow
    • Spennymoor
    • Washington

    North West:

    • Accrington
    • Ashton-Under-Lyne
    • Burnley
    • Chadderton
    • Darwen
    • Farnworth
    • Heywood
    • Kirkby
    • Leigh
    • Nelson
    • Newton-le-Willows
    • Rawtenstall
    • Runcorn

    Yorkshire and the Humber:

    • Barnsley
    • Castleford
    • Dewsbury
    • Doncaster
    • Keighley
    • Rotherham
    • Scarborough
    • Scunthorpe
    • Grimsby

    East Midlands:

    • Boston
    • Carlton
    • Chesterfield
    • Clifton (Notts)
    • Kirkby-in-Ashfield
    • Mansfield
    • Newark-on-Trent
    • Spalding
    • Worksop
    • Skegness

    West Midlands:

    • Bedworth
    • Bilston
    • Darlaston
    • Dudley
    • Royal Sutton Coldfield
    • Smethwick

    East of England:

    • Canvey Island
    • Clacton-on-Sea
    • Great Yarmouth
    • King’s Lynn
    • Thetford
    • Wisbech
    • Harlow

    South East:

    • Bexhill-on-Sea
    • Eastbourne
    • Hastings
    • Ramsgate
    • Ryde

    South West:

    • Torquay
  • PRESS RELEASE : Over a quarter of pupils missing out on HPV vaccine [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Over a quarter of pupils missing out on HPV vaccine [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the UK Health Security Agency on 4 March 2025.

    On HPV Awareness Day, parents are reminded HPV vaccine gives protection against cervical cancer and protects both girls and boys from several other types of cancer.

    The NHS HPV vaccination programme in England, delivered in schools, has dramatically lowered HPV infections and rates of cervical cancer in vaccine-eligible women, with the strongest effects seen in those offered vaccination at younger ages.

    However, with over a quarter of eligible pupils missing out on this vital life-saving protection each year, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is today reminding young people and parents that HPV vaccination is for both girls and boys – as it protects all young adults, men and women, against genital warts and some cancers of the genital areas and anus, as well as some mouth and throat (head and neck) cancers.

    The HPV vaccine has been offered to all girls in school year 8 since September 2008. From September 2019, the vaccine has also been offered to year 8 boys. This is because the evidence is clear that the HPV vaccine helps protect both boys and girls from HPV-related cancers. This protection is now provided with just one dose of HPV vaccine.

    The UKHSA is urging all young people to take up the HPV vaccine in schools when offered – with parents ensuring they sign the consent forms to enable their children to be vaccinated. Latest figures overall indicate that uptake is stabilising, with encouraging signs of increases when people are first offered the vaccine in year 8.

    However, HPV vaccine uptake among school pupils is still well below pre-pandemic levels of around 90%, with over a quarter still not protected.

    The most recent coverage data include HPV vaccine uptake rates for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, following the move from 2 doses to 1 dose through the routine adolescent HPV programme in September 2023.

    They show that:

    • uptake among year 8 females was 72.9% (1.6% higher than the previous year) and 67.7% for year 8 males (2.5% higher than the previous year)
    • uptake among year 9 females was 74.1% (1.6% lower than the previous year) and 68.5% for year 9 males (1.2% lower than previous year)
    • uptake among year 10 females was 76.7% (6.5% lower than the previous year) and 71.2% for year 10 males (7.4% lower than the previous year)

    Data also show the impact of catch-up efforts for HPV vaccination since the COVID-19 pandemic. HPV coverage for female year 9 pupils was 2.8% higher than the previous academic year when the same cohort was in year 8. Similarly for male year 9 pupils uptake was 3.3% higher than in 2022 to 2023.

    Dr Sharif Ismail, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, said:

    The HPV vaccine is one of the most successful in the world, now given as just a single dose helping to prevent HPV related cancers from developing in both boys and girls.

    Some parents may still think that HPV is just for girls to protect against cervical cancer, but since 2019 the vaccine is also offered to all boys in Year 8 – protecting both boys and girls from several cancers caused by the HPV virus.

    Although we have seen some increases in the number of young people being vaccinated, uptake is still well below pre-pandemic levels, with over a quarter missing out on this vital protection.

    We urge young people and their parents to ensure consent forms are returned so both boys and girls take up this potentially life-saving vaccine when offered. Look out for the invitation from your school and if you missed your HPV vaccine, you can contact your GP practice to arrange an appointment – you remain eligible to receive the vaccine until your 25th birthday.

    Cancer Research UK’s Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell, said:

    Every year, around 3,300 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK. Thanks to the power of research and efforts of NHS staff, we can eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in our lifetime – the HPV vaccine combined with cervical screening can help to bring about a future virtually free from the disease.

    The science is clear, HPV vaccination is safe and effective. It’s vital that access to HPV vaccination and cervical screening is improved to ensure more lives aren’t lost to cervical cancer. I encourage all eligible people to take up these life-saving offers.

    Steve Russell, National Director for Vaccinations and Screening for NHS England, said:

    The NHS HPV vaccination already helps save thousands of lives, but we know there is more to do to ensure young people are getting protected.

    We’re urging parents of boys and girls eligible for a vaccine to consent to their children getting their HPV vaccines from nurses when they visit schools, as it helps protect against a virus causing cancers, including head and neck, and nearly all cases of cervical cancer.

    Hundreds of women die of cervical cancer in England each year and 99.8% of cases of cervical cancer are preventable through HPV vaccination and cervical screening, so this vaccine is crucial in our drive to eliminate the disease by 2040.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Government no longer places girls in Young Offender Institutions [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Government no longer places girls in Young Offender Institutions [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 4 March 2025.

    Vulnerable girls sentenced to youth custody will no longer be placed in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).

    Ministers have acted immediately to end the practice of placing girls in young offender institutions following recommendations from Susannah Hancock’s independent review into the placement and care of girls in youth custody.

    The review published today highlights the complex mental and physical health issues these girls often face, with self-harm at a concerning level.

    It comes as recent figures show girls are involved in more than half the self-harm incidents across the youth estate in England and Wales, despite accounting for less than two percent of the children in custody.

    The intervention will ensure girls are always placed in settings more suited to their needs such as Secure Schools or Secure Children’s Homes.

    The decision was informed by feedback from hardworking staff and the vulnerable children in their care. The review found that despite tireless efforts of staff involved in their care, YOIs cannot offer the therapeutic, trauma-informed support these girls need.

    Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin said:

    Girls in custody are often victims themselves with complex mental health and emotional needs.

    Ending their placement in YOIs for good is a first step in drastically improving the support they receive to turn their lives around.

    I am grateful to Susannah Hancock for her recommendations, and we will set out our response to each one in due course.

    Girls have not been placed in HMYOI Wetherby, the only YOI accepting girls, for several months. This has now been made a permanent decision.

    Susannah Hancock was appointed by the government in November 2024 to conduct an independent review into the placement of girls in the children and young people’s secure estate.

    The report acknowledges the scope of the challenge at hand, and the department will now consider the full range of its recommendations and develop a long-term action plan in response.

    Susannah Hancock said:

    I am pleased that the government has acted swiftly in accepting the first recommendation in my review and that girls will no longer be placed in YOIs.

    This is an important step forward towards ensuring that all girls in custody receive appropriate levels of support, care and therapeutic interventions to address their physical, mental health and emotional needs.

    I look forward to hearing the government’s response to the wider review recommendations and to seeing professionals come together to help make positive changes for these girls.

    Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board said:

    We welcome the recommendations from Susannah Hancock’s independent review into girls in custody and we are pleased that the Minister has agreed to the immediate removal of girls in young offender institutions.

    It is our position, informed by the evidence, that girls should only be placed in secure settings in exceptional circumstances, and when this happens, they should be held in places that are designed to meet their needs. Children in the youth justice system are overwhelmingly boys, and as a result girls’ needs and vulnerabilities can be overlooked, resulting in them encountering poorer experiences and outcomes.

    The Youth Custody Service can place girls in different settings across the youth custody estate, including secure children’s homes, the new secure school and Oakhill Secure Training Centre. Girls were previously placed at HMYOI Wetherby following the closure of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, but today’s decision removes this placement option permanently.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Keir Starmer call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Keir Starmer call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine [March 2025]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 4 March 2025.

    The Prime Minister spoke to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this afternoon.

    The Prime Minister updated on his discussion with President Trump last night. It was vital that all parties worked towards a lasting and secure peace for Ukraine as soon as possible, the Prime Minister added.

    Turning to President Zelenskyy’s most recent calls for further diplomatic efforts to achieve the swiftest possible end to the war, the Prime Minister welcomed President Zelenskyy’s steadfast commitment to securing peace.

    Underscoring that any peace for Ukraine needed to be lasting and secure, the Prime Minister said no one wanted peace more than Ukraine.

    The leaders agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK expands campaign to stop migrant smugglers and their lies [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK expands campaign to stop migrant smugglers and their lies [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Home Office on 4 March 2025.

    Digital advertising launched today in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) as part of the government’s international campaign to warn prospective migrants about people smugglers’ lies, expanding on the campaigns in Vietnam and Albania.

    Quotes from real migrants who have attempted the journey are featured, to counter the myths and misinformation peddled by criminals to dupe people online, as the UK government secures its borders as part of the Plan for Change.

    The campaign forms part of this government’s work to expand the UK’s international partnerships and boost cooperation, to dismantle the people smuggling gangs operating across borders and protect vulnerable people, delivered through the Border Security Command.

    It comes as the UK is set to sign a joint communiqué today (4 March 2025) with the Vietnamese government at the third annual UK-Vietnam Migration Dialogue, hosted in Hanoi, agreeing to build on our joint work to prevent the exploitation of irregular migrants, disrupt criminal gang operations, strengthen intelligence sharing and return those with no right to be in the UK.

    The communiqué includes commitments to enable swifter and more effective returns, and for the UK government to continue its communications campaign in Vietnam to tackle migrant smugglers’ lies.

    Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said:

    Ruthless criminal gangs spread dangerous lies on social media to exploit people for money, and we are exposing them using the real stories of their victims.

    This campaign helps to break the business model of these criminals and protect people from falling victim, securing our borders as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

    No one should be in any doubt that putting your life in the hands of a smuggler is not worth the risk. Too many people have died in the English Channel at the hands of these criminals, and we will stop at nothing to bring them to justice.

    The UK’s Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, also visited Iraq and the KRI last week, to progress the world-first agreements reached between the Federal Government of Iraq and the UK Government in November and further progress our cooperation on strengthening mutual border security.

    He met with senior officials in the Federal Government of Iraq and within the Kurdistan Regional Government and its agencies to discuss ongoing cooperation, including increased joint working to tackle organised immigration crime and strengthen our mutual border security co-operation.

    Through the Border Security Command, the UK government is working on a whole system approach, preventing irregular migration through communications, increasing international collaboration to tackle this issue across borders, and arming law enforcement with the powers it needs.

    Bold new counterterror-style powers in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is back in Parliament today for committee stage, will help bolster law enforcement to intercept and smash the people smuggling gangs earlier and faster.

    This includes stronger powers to seize and search mobile phones to investigate organised immigration crime and new offences against gangs conspiring to plan crossings, selling or handling small boat parts for use in the Channel, or supplying forged identity documents for migrants attempting to come here illegally.

    Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt, said:

    International partnerships are an essential part of our work to stop criminal gangs operating across borders to exploit vulnerable people.

    By strengthening these relationships and working closely with law enforcement partners across the world, we will bring down these gangs, break their business models, and put a stop to the misery and harm they inflict.

    Communications are an important part of this work, and our international campaign is sending a clear message to prospective migrants that these criminals cannot be trusted.

    The Home Office has today published a short film explaining the Border Security Command’s mission, its work to date, and its future plans.

    The video features the Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, and key staff setting out the challenge the UK faces from criminal gangs determined to abuse our borders and exploit people for profit, and how the Border Security Command will defeat them and bring them to justice.

    The UK’s international communications campaign will also ramp up this year to inform prospective migrants at every stage of the journey about the risks and realities of entering the UK illegally, including informing diaspora communities in the UK about the dangers their friends and families overseas face from people smugglers.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Boost in funding for care homes providing nursing [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Boost in funding for care homes providing nursing [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 4 March 2025.

    The government is set to increase funding for care homes providing nursing care in the community.

    More than 75,000 people will be better supported in the community following an increase in funding for nursing care.

    The government has announced a 7.7% increase in funding for care homes providing nursing care in the community, which is tailored to an individual’s needs and health outcomes. This includes administering medicines and performing procedures.

    The funding will help reduce the pressure on hospitals by preventing unnecessary admissions and supports the discharge of individuals into social care settings to free up hospital beds.

    The uplift for 2025 to 2026 means the standard weekly rate per person provided for NHS-funded nursing care will increase from £235.88 to £254.06 from 1 April 2025, with funding paid by the NHS directly to care homes which provide nursing care. The higher rate will increase from £324.50 to £349.50.

    Care homes play a vital role in our healthcare system, providing specialist nursing care to some of our most vulnerable citizens.

    The uplift follows the government’s immediate actions to improve adult social care, as part of the Plan for Change, to help create a sustainable care system for the future. This includes making available £3.7 billion to local authorities, and providing a total of £172 million in additional funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant to deliver around 15,000 new adaptations to help disabled people live safely and independently in their own homes.

    In the longer term, Baroness Louise Casey is leading an independent commission to develop recommendations for a national care service which will provide high-quality care for everybody who needs it and rebuild the sector so that it is fit for the future.

  • PRESS RELEASE : This resolution retains a powerful package of sanctions to further degrade Al-Shabaab – UK statement at the UN Security Council [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : This resolution retains a powerful package of sanctions to further degrade Al-Shabaab – UK statement at the UN Security Council [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 March 2025.

    Explanation of vote by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, following the vote on the UN Security Council Resolution 2776 on Al-Shabaab Sanctions.

    The unanimous adoption of this resolution today sends a clear message: the Council is united in its determination to support Somalia’s efforts in the fight against Al-Shabaab.

    This resolution retains a powerful package of sanctions designed to further degrade Al-Shabaab, disrupt its finances, strengthen international collaboration and support Somalia in building its own capabilities.

    And it again demonstrates the Council’s commitment to continue working with Somalia to ensure that these measures are adjusted progressively and appropriately in response to the evolving security context.

    This was also the first Council resolution on this regime that we have negotiated with Somalia as a fellow member of the Security Council.

    We welcome the constructive approach that all Council members took across this negotiation, which enabled us to arrive at this consensus outcome.

    And we look forward to continuing our close engagement with Somalia, with Council members and with the region across the many vital upcoming Council decisions on Somalia this year.

    Finally President, the resolution we have adopted today also recognises the particular concern posed by flows of weapons from Yemen to Somalia.

    Al-Shabaab’s links to the Houthis are part of a wider pattern of Houthi destabilising activity beyond Yemen’s borders.

    The 2713 and 2140 sanctions committees should coordinate closely to monitor and counter this trend.

    And we call on all Council members to work collectively to tackle these links, which represent a significant risk to the stability of Somalia and the region.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 58 – UK Statement for the Item 2 General Debate [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 58 – UK Statement for the Item 2 General Debate [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 March 2025.

    UK Statement at the 58 Human Rights Council for the Item 2 General Debate. Delivered by UK Ambassador for Human Rights to the UN, Eleanor Sanders.

    Thank you, Mr Vice President.

    And thank you for your update, High Commissioner.

    First of all, we share your concern at Thailand’s decision to deport forty Uyghurs to China. We urge China to ensure they are treated in accordance with international standards.

    Mr Vice President,

    Sudan’s people have suffered enough. This Council’s Fact-Finding Mission has reported appalling violence: women raped and sexually abused, people executed because of their ethnicity, children recruited as soldiers, and heavy artillery shelling including in civilian areas. All parties must adhere to their obligations to protect civilians and perpetrators of atrocities must be held accountable.

    We commend DRC for its engagement with the Council and urge all parties to act in accordance with international law.

    In Venezuela, civil society and independent media are targeted and political opposition face severe restrictions. We call on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained.

    And in Guatemala, the continuing persecution of justice officials linked to the fight against corruption is deeply concerning and must stop.

    Finally, Mr President,

    The situation in Libya remains precarious, with armed groups and security actors operating with impunity. We urge all Libyan actors to comply with international law and engage in the UN-facilitated and Libyan-led political process in good faith.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 58 – Sri Lanka Core Group Statement at the General Debate on Item 2 [March 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 58 – Sri Lanka Core Group Statement at the General Debate on Item 2 [March 2025]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 March 2025.

    Sri Lanka Statement at the 58 Human Rights Council during the Item 2 General Debate. Delivered by UK Ambassador for Human Rights to the UN, Eleanor Sanders, on behalf of the Core Group on Sri Lanka.

    Thank you, Mr President,

    This statement is by the Sri Lanka Core Group comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom.

    High Commissioner, we wish to thank you for your oral update on Sri Lanka

    We would like to commend Sri Lanka’s peaceful elections and the smooth transition of power last year. We recognise that the new Sri Lankan Government has only been in place for four months, and we encourage Sri Lanka to use  the  opportunity that this transition represents to address the challenges it faces.

    We appreciate the Government’s commitment to making meaningful progress on reconciliation and the initial steps taken, including returning land, lifting roadblocks, and allowing communities in the North and East to commemorate the past and to memorialise their loved ones.

    In order to build and sustain trust, it is essential to ensure the protection of civil society spaces, including by ending surveillance and intimidation of civil society actors and organisations.

    We welcome commitments to implement devolution in accordance with the constitution and to make progress on governance reforms.

    We take note of the Government’s stated intention to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emphasise that any new legislation should be in line with Sri Lanka’s international obligations. We encourage the release of those who remain detained under the Act.

    As the Government seeks to make progress on human rights and corruption cases, we urge that any comprehensive reconciliation and accountability process carry the support of affected communities, build on past recommendations and meet international standards.

    We also encourage the Government to re-invigorate the work of domestic institutions focused on reparations and missing persons.

    We reaffirm our willingness to work with the Government to ensure that any future transitional justice mechanisms are independent, inclusive, meaningful, and meet the expectations of affected communities.

    Thank you.