Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 May 2024.

Ambassador Holland delivers a statement on behalf of UK and Canada calling on the government of Georgia to withdraw its legislation on the Transparency of Foreign Influence, so that it can pursue its Euro-Atlantic trajectory.

Thank you, Chair. I am delivering this statement on behalf of Canada and my own country, the United Kingdom.

We are close friends of Georgia. Our partnership is broad and deep. We remain staunchly committed to defending Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of the continuous hybrid threat it faces from Russia. We stand resolute in demanding that Russia remove its illegal presence from Georgian soil, and we reiterate our support for Georgia to tackle the range of hybrid threats it faces.

We are committed to supporting the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Georgian people, which are made clear in the Georgian Constitution.

We remain deeply concerned by the Georgian government continuing to pursue the Transparency of Foreign Influence Law, with the Parliament overturning the Presidential veto on 28 May.  We continue to believe, and have repeatedly made clear, that a vibrant civil society is a key part of a thriving democratic state. We thank ODIHR for their recent visit to Georgia and reiterate our support for ODIHR’s work and mandate. Civil society plays a major and important role in holding participating States to account for implementation of our shared OSCE principles and commitments.

As the Venice Commission concluded, this law risks stigmatising, silencing and eventually eliminating associations and media that receive even a low part of their funding from abroad.  It will significantly impact freedom of association and of expression, the right to privacy, the right to participate in public affairs and the prohibition of discrimination.

Such legislation is not in line with Georgia’s aspirations and will harm Georgia’s attempt to integrate with Euro-Atlantic institutions.

The protests we have seen in Tbilisi over recent weeks have shown that the Georgian people’s will to be part of Europe has never been stronger. Intimidation of opponents of the law must also cease and the rights of the Georgian people to freedom of expression and peaceful protest must be protected.

We want to support a prosperous, sovereign, democratic Georgia that is continuing to deliver the reforms needed to make progress on its Euro-Atlantic integration.  As we and partners have consistently stated, this law is completely contrary to that objective. So we call on the government of Georgia to withdraw the legislation, so that it can pursue its Euro-Atlantic trajectory.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 May 2024.

Ambassador Holland condemns Russia’s disregard for Kharkiv’s civilian population as it bombards residential areas and other non-military targets in the region.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Russia’s renewed offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv oblast has had a devastating impact on civilians. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the escalation in hostilities in the north-eastern part of the country has resulted in terrifying conditions. In complete disregard for the civilian population, Russian forces have bombarded frontline positions, pulverised residential areas, and littered whole communities with unexploded ordnance and mines. The World Health Organisation estimates that 14,000 people in Kharkiv Oblast have been displaced, with the remaining 189,000 at significant risk.

According to the Kharkiv regional police, Russian forces have prevented some civilians from evacuating the besieged town of Vovchansk. They report that at least one civilian was killed in an extrajudicial execution for trying to escape. Additionally, on 21 May, drone images have surfaced showing what appears to be several extrajudicial executions of civilians in Vovchansk. Madam Chair, these reports are an incredibly concerning snapshot of the situation civilians in this region face every day. As we know, wilful killing is a war crime, and those responsible must be held to account.

Last weekend, Russia struck a home improvement store in Kharkiv, killing 18 people, including two children, and injuring several others. Search operations continue as the police attempt to identify remains amongst the ashes. An image of an eight-year-old boy taking a DNA test to identify his deceased father highlights the devastation Russia has inflicted upon innocent civilians. This store was not a military target. It was a civilian shop attacked during its busiest period of the week.

It is clear that Russian strikes extend beyond military targets. Last week, on the day that our Permanent Council last met, Russia struck a printing house in Kharkiv, killing civilians who were working in the building. The printing house, which has been turned to rubble, produced a third of Ukraine’s books and 10% of its newspapers. It was not making tanks or ammunition. It represented something that Russia fears far more: a free media; facts and ideas that do not conform with the Kremlin’s warped view of reality; Ukrainian identity, culture and language.

But the people of Ukraine refuse to submit to Russian aggression. Ukrainian forces are stabilising the situation and disrupting the tempo of Russia’s operations in the region. Despite Russia’s aggressive tactics, 60% of Vovchansk remains under Ukrainian control, and Russian forces are facing significant casualties. Like many in this room, the UK will continue to stand resolutely by Ukraine’s side, unwavering in our commitment to counter Russian aggression and to stand up for freedom.

Madam Chair, the UK welcome Switzerland’s “Summit on Peace for Ukraine” scheduled for 15-16 June. The summit will build international consensus around the principles that must underpin a just and lasting peace. The UK will attend at a high-level and we encourage others to do the same. Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 May 2024.

Politico-Military Counsellor, Ankur Narayan, adds that despite the staggering costs to Russia, Putin is no closer to subjugating Ukraine. Russia can minimise its losses by withdrawing all of its forces from all of Ukraine.

Thank you Mr Chair. Two weeks ago, President Putin appointed a new Defence Minister – Andrei Belousov. Upon taking up the job, Minister Belousov placed special emphasis on prosecuting the war with “minimal human losses”.

Given Minister Belousov’s background as an economist, let me speak about numbers:

a. 825. Today is 825 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

b. 465,000. Over 465,000 Russian personnel have been killed or wounded in that time.

c. 980. From January 2024 to April 2024, Russia’s daily casualty rate in Ukraine – the numbers of killed and wounded – was 980. Estimates in May, put that number over 1000 per day. That is around 30,000 per month. The highest rate it has been since the start of this war.

d. 40%. Defence now takes up 40% of Russia’s government spending – which amounts to 6% of its GDP.

e. 70,000. Ukraine has liberated 70,000 square miles of land that Russia seized in 2022. And Ukraine has destroyed or damaged a quarter of the Black Sea Fleet’s vessels, denying Russia control of the western Black Sea and pushing back much of the Russian navy from Crimea. As a result, Ukraine has successfully resumed maritime exports from its Black Sea ports. Monthly export volumes through its maritime corridor are consistently at the highest levels – four and a half million tonnes – since the war began. It is on course to export all its harvest this year despite repeated Russian attempts to prevent it.

To summarise. President Putin is now over two years into a war he thought would take 3 days. He is no closer to his goal of subjugating Ukraine. Instead, Russia has suffered nearly half a million casualties, and lost a great proportion of its land and sea forces. Economists do not need to be reminded about sunk cost fallacy. Seen objectively, the numbers point to a terrible loss for a country like Russia – in Russian lives, materiel and credibility.

There is a simple way to minimise human losses. Russia chose to start this war. Russia can choose to end it. Ukraine has the right to defend itself. We will continue to stand resolutely with Ukraine. Russia should respect the UN Charter, end its war, and withdraw all of its forces from all of Ukraine.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 May 2024.

Minister for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan issued a statement on the guilty verdict of some of the ‘NSL 47’ activists and former politicians in Hong Kong.

Today, the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delivered its verdict for 16 of the 47 activists and former politicians known as the ‘NSL 47’. The 47 were charged under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL) for their alleged participation in a conspiracy to subvert state power. Fourteen were today found guilty and 2 found not guilty. The 14 found guilty will be sentenced at a later date. The remaining 31 pleaded guilty to the charge and await sentencing.

Commenting on the outcome, Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Rt Hon Anne Marie Trevelyan said:

This case is a clear demonstration of the way that the Hong Kong authorities have used the Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL) to stifle opposition and criminalise political dissent. The NSL 47 are guilty of nothing more than seeking to exercise their right to freedom of speech, of assembly and of political participation, as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and promised in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Today’s verdict will only further tarnish Hong Kong’s international reputation. It sends a message that Hong Kongers can no longer safely and meaningfully participate in peaceful political debate.

We call on the Hong Kong authorities to end NSL prosecutions and release all individuals charged under it.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 May 2024.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

First, the United Kingdom is appalled by the deeply distressing scenes emerging from Rafah following Israeli airstrikes over the weekend. As the Foreign Secretary has said, we call on Israel to launch a swift, comprehensive and transparent investigation.

The UK’s position is very clear. We do not support a major military operation in Rafah without an acceptable plan to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians who remain there. We have seen no such plan. Hundreds of thousands have already been displaced from Rafah, many for the second time, and to locations without suitable provision of shelter, food, water and access to medical treatment.

We strongly condemn Hamas’s actions to put civilians at severe risk by using them as shields. We call on Israel to take care to limit operations to military targets and to minimise harm to civilians and civilian objects in line with international humanitarian law.

Second, there is an urgent need to get more aid to the people of Gaza who are in such desperate need. Israel has made a number of commitments in recent weeks to increase the supply of aid, including a commitment to flood Gaza with aid. This included increasing the daily number of trucks of aid entering Gaza to 500, opening Ashdod Port to humanitarian aid, and additional crossing points for aid in North Gaza.

While we welcome progress towards these commitments, including the delivery from Ashdod Port into Gaza of flour by WFP, overall progress has been too slow and quantities of aid being delivered remain well below these levels. We welcome the agreement between Egypt and Israel to allow UN agencies to deliver aid, but operations in Rafah have increased the need for aid at a time when flows have been reduced by the closure of the Rafah crossing point, and reduced deliveries of aid through Kerem Shalom. The humanitarian situation is now catastrophic.

We call on Israel urgently to fulfil these commitments, to allow aid in quantity through all crossing points, including Rafah, and also to ensure an environment within Gaza that allows aid to reach those who so desperately need it. This includes an effective deconfliction system to allow humanitarian workers to distribute it safely, and supporting the minimum operating requirements of the UN and its agencies.

Finally, President, all of this could stop now if Hamas laid down their arms. They are causing this suffering to the Palestinian people. We call on Hamas to immediately release all of the hostages that have now been held for over seven months. We urgently need to see a deal which stops the fighting, allows for unhindered access for life saving aid into Gaza and gets the hostages out.

We must then work with our international partners to turn that pause into a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.

I thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 May 2024.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on humanitarian personnel.

President, I want to begin by thanking Switzerland for their work to take forward this really important initiative and the collaborative way in which they did it.

We would also like to take the opportunity today to recognise all UN and humanitarian personnel on behalf of the UK for their vital work.

The UK strongly supports the purposes of this resolution. UN and humanitarian workers operate worldwide in extremely difficult and often dangerous conditions, and it is right that we as a Council have today affirmed the protections that they need and deserve.

Crucially the resolution is clear that parties to armed conflicts have obligations to protect local and national aid workers, as well as UN and international humanitarian personnel, and we call on all Member States to facilitate their work and support their efforts.

Local and national aid workers are essential in efforts to reach the most vulnerable, and who often run significant risks to their own lives to help save the lives of others.

We welcome the strong language reaffirming the importance of International Humanitarian Law, as well as the need to focus on protection from the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence.

And finally, we welcome the resolution’s focus on addressing misinformation and disinformation and encourage further steps to counter this increasing threat to UN and humanitarian staff.

We look forward to seeing the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report and remain committed to taking forward this important agenda.

I thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 May 2024.

Lord Benyon, Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy, gave the UK’s national statement at the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference.

Thank you, Prime Minister Browne, Secretary-General Guterres and your teams, for bringing us together on this beautiful island.

Before I say anything else, I just want to recognise the terrible loss of life from the landslide in Papua New Guinea. We remain with the Government of Papua New Guinea and all those affected in this terrible event. It focuses our mind on what we’re here to do.

Formally, SIDS’ unique position has been acknowledged for decades. And I’d like to take this opportunity of recognising the presence here in some numbers, representatives of the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories, many of whom are SIDS and deserve to be considered as part of the solutions we find.

While formally SIDS’ unique position has been acknowledged, we’re yet to see the way forward for you, and we need to hear you speak up, as you are doing very forcefully at this event – persistently and powerfully – to make sure the world really understands what it means to see things from your perspective.

So, it is up to all of us to make a sincere effort to do so – and then to take action.

For our part, the United Kingdom is helping Antigua to host this conference, and Samoa to host the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government meeting later this year.

We’re working hard to make sure the support we offer SIDS takes your specific needs into account – and that we work in partnership with you in addressing them.

And for all of us, we should be asking ourselves 3 vital questions, to check whether we have been listening.

First, do our systems reflect the unique circumstances of SIDS?

Prime Minister Browne, Prime Minister Fiame Mata’afa and the UK team have showcased the work that we have led with SIDS and the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee. Crucially, it includes an agreement to look into how vulnerability could be integrated into the OECD’s DAC ODA policy and processes, including on graduation.

I know the current system creates real problems for SIDS. And frankly, the way we do aid does not work for some of the world’s most vulnerable, and that’s something that’s inherently wrong with the system.

Second, are we offering enough funding?

Last year, Britain announced an additional £1.6 billion for the Green Climate Fund. That’s our biggest single aid commitment to help tackle climate change.

Earlier this month, we announced that £25 million of our new support for Antimicrobial Resistance will be for work in the Caribbean region. And last week, our Foreign Secretary pledged a further £200 million to build on our landmark Caribbean Infrastructure Fund.

And we continue to press international financial institutions to stretch their balance sheets, so the aid that we and other donors give to them goes as far as it can – and has a real impact when it gets there.

The final test is the most important: can SIDS actually access the money?

Over the years, so many of you have said “we keep hearing announcements about green finance, but it seems so hard to get hold of it.”

We are using our programme funding to boost technical assistance to SIDS. And we want to make sure all of you can harness expertise, to get the cash you need from the international finance system, and spend it effectively – be that cleaning up marine pollution, or making infrastructure better to withstand a cyclone.

I hope you sense that the UK is listening, and that we are taking action.

Together, we can support the communities, the biodiversity, the incredible natural beauty of the islands around the world – and it is going to take all of us to see this through.

Thank you very much.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 May 2024.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UK-hosted UN Arria meeting on youth and children in Myanmar.

Thank you, excellencies, colleagues for joining today’s Arria-formula meeting on the situation in Myanmar.

Last May, we held an Arria focused on Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis. In a span of 12 months, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has risen from 17.6 million to 18.6 million. The number of internally displaced persons is now 3 million, in comparison to 1.8 million in 2023.

Myanmar’s youth and children are bearing the brunt of this crisis, triggered by the military coup and their repression of the civilian population. More than half are out of school, routine vaccinations are being disrupted, and with food insecurity on the rise, there is a risk that many will suffer from childhood malnutrition.

So what can we do to shift the trajectory and protect Myanmar’s children and future generations?

First, the international community needs to pay greater attention to the worsening levels of food insecurity. More than 13 million people in Myanmar are projected to fall into acute food insecurity this year. Babies will not receive the necessary nutrients to grow up healthy while children may be pushed to join armed groups or forced to be married to reduce the burden on their families. The United Kingdom has helped support 1.8 million people with nutrition and livelihood support in 2023. We call on others to urgently ramp up their response.

Second, there needs to be greater access to education and health services, including through localised delivery partners to ensure we reach all those in need. Through local providers, the UK has helped support half a million women and children to access maternal, newborn, and child health services. And last year, we helped facilitate education to over 200,000 children, of whom more than half were girls.

And finally, it is deeply concerning that nearly 150 children are estimated to have been killed in Myanmar in the first five months of 2024. We are also following reports of forced recruitment, increased violence, and displacement in Rakhine State, affecting all civilians, including Rohingya, Rakhine, and other ethnic communities. Unified messaging underlining the critical need for all parties to protect civilians, including children, is urgently needed. As per ASEAN’s latest review of the five-point consensus, we call on the Myanmar Armed Forces in particular, to stop targeted attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and healthcare facilities. And we reiterate the Security Council’s demand for an immediate end to all forms of violence as set out in Resolution 2669.

Now, today, we will hear perspectives from Myanmar’s youth and children, as well as from UNICEF Emergency Operations Director, Lucia Elmi. I would now like to turn my colleagues’ attention to the screen to hear the invaluable voices of Myanmar’s future generation.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 May 2024.

Following North Korea’s failed satellite launch on 27 May, a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson gave a statement.

An FCDO spokesperson said:

North Korea’s failed satellite launch on 27 May is another breach of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). Unlawful launches continue to destabilise the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.

The UK strongly urges North Korea to stop such provocations, return to dialogue and take credible steps towards denuclearisation.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 May 2024.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on women, peace and security and youth.

Thank you, President, and let me thank Mozambique for convening this meeting. I’m also grateful to all our briefers for their remarks today.

As they have set out, it is critical that we move from commitments to concrete actions on women, peace and security and youth, peace and security.

I will set out three broad priorities.

First: participation. We know that women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation – as leaders, negotiators and peacebuilders – greatly enhances the chances of long-lasting peace.

We are working to make this a reality. Through the Peacebuilding Fund, the UK is supporting women and youth initiatives, including in Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso. We recently launched a programme of over $900,000 supporting women peacebuilders including in South Sudan and elsewhere.

We fund Women Mediators Across the Commonwealth, a group of 50 conflict mediators engaged in conflict prevention. For example, Commonwealth members from West Africa are working with women and communities in Niger, leading innovative solutions to stop conflict before it starts.

We want to see this expertise being used at scale, with networks of women mediators and grassroots women’s organisations engaged across all issues on this Council’s agenda.

Second: empowerment. By amplifying the voices of those most affected by conflict, we can better address and mitigate its impacts. During the UK presidency last year, we supported the first child civil society representative to address this Council in person. Last week, my minister convened a roundtable in London of girls from South Sudan, DRC, Ukraine and the West Bank to hear their thoughts on the most pressing needs of children in conflict settings.

Our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative prioritises the voices of survivors and puts them at the heart of decision-making, including through a Survivor Advisory Group.

Third: protection. Women and young people disproportionately bear the brunt of conflict. For children who grow up in war, the scars of conflict, including conflict-related sexual violence, remain into their youth and well beyond.

The UK’s Platform for Action Promoting the Rights and Wellbeing of Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence is dedicated to addressing the urgent challenges faced by this vulnerable group. It includes commitments to action from the UK, Canada and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

President, the Summit of the Future and the New Agenda for Peace provide opportunities to advance our collective efforts to prevent conflict. Let us commit to moving from words to action, to empower women and youth, and take decisive steps to a more just and equitable future. I thank you.