Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 March 2024.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on conflict prevention.

Thank you, President, and let me join others in thanking our briefers, USG DiCarlo, Ambassador Danese, Dr Williams and Ms Bhagwan-Rolls for their briefing today.

In 2014, the United Kingdom led the development of Security Council resolution 2171. That resolution, unanimously adopted, underlined the “moral, political and humanitarian imperative and the economic advantages” of preventing conflict. It called for intensified efforts to prevent conflict, drawing on a range of tools.

Ten years on, that call is even more relevant. The United Kingdom is grateful to Japan for convening today’s debate.

President, I will make three points on how this Council and the wider international architecture can better promote conflict prevention, empowering all actors.

First, we can do more to empower women as agents of peace. Gender equality is a strong indicator of sustainable peace, and peace processes are more durable when women are at the table.

This Council could be even more robust in advocating for women’s full, equal, safe and meaningful inclusion in peace, development, mediation and decision-making processes. We need to do so from Afghanistan to Sudan. And globally, we should continue striving to increase the proportion of women peacekeepers and peacebuilders.

Second, we can help generate broad, inclusive national ownership of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Peace is not organic; the need to nurture it is universal. Yes, states have that primary responsibility but the evidence shows that inclusive, nationally-led, and locally-rooted efforts deliver more sustainable results. Young peacebuilders are often best placed to break the cycle of violence in local communities: a principle we apply to our own violence reduction strategies in the UK.

So, this Council can throw its weight behind inclusive national processes to build and sustain peace, as we have in Colombia. We can empower the Peacebuilding Commission to play its part as a space to mobilise political and financial support. And we can advocate for the Peacebuilding Fund and the UNDP-DPPA Joint Programme on strengthening national capacities for conflict prevention, both of which the United Kingdom is proud to support.

Finally, we can empower the wider international architecture as a companion in conflict prevention by working to deepen partnerships and advance integrated approaches. We should insist on application of the Secretary-General’s Integrated Assessment and Planning policy in UN Mission settings. We should pursue closer cooperation with regional organisations. And we should continue to encourage collaboration between the UN and the World Bank in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. This partnership is increasingly generating peace dividends, from The Gambia to Somalia and beyond.

President, the Summit of the Future and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review are opportunities to reinvigorate our collective efforts to prevent conflict. Let us seize them.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 March 2024.

Statement on report on crisis-related ILO work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you Chair, dear brother, for giving me the floor.

1. Let me start by focusing our thoughts on all Palestinians and Israelis who have suffered or have seen loved ones killed. We are shocked by the sheer scale of people killed and the loss of livelihoods of both Israeli and Palestinians, including workers and employers.
2. Let’s recall that Israel suffered the worst terror attack in its history on 7th October at the hands of Hamas, and Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
3. Like so many others here, we want the fighting to stop now.
4. In our view, the best way to achieve a sustainable, permanent ceasefire – without a return to further destruction, further fighting and further loss of life – is to start with an immediate pause and agreements to get aid in and hostages out.
5. The UK wants to open all routes and crossings into Gaza. There is a desperate and immediate need for increased humanitarian support in Gaza. The UK itself has trebled its aid commitment this financial year.
6. The UK thanks the Director General and the ILO for their vital engagement. And we note the ILO report on ‘crisis-related ILO work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’. We commend, in particular, the ILO’s staff who are implementing the emergency response programme under immensely challenging circumstances. Both Palestinian and Israeli labour markets have been gravely affected by the crisis and in Gaza there is clearly no effective economy operating.
7. Like others here, we support a two-state solution that guarantees security, stability and sovereignty for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. The UK and our partners will continue to help by confirming our commitment to a sovereign, viable Palestinian state, including recognition at the UN, and our vision for its composition.
8. Chair, in these difficult and dividing times, we must all strive for consensus to ensure that the ILO’s vital emergency response programme is unimpeded, and the people of Gaza receive this much needed support that they deserve.

Thank you, Chair.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 March 2024.

Ambassador Neil Holland thanks Cyprus for its calm chairing of the Forum for Security Cooperation, despite Russia’s attempts to distract from its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Thank you, Mr Chair. And a warm welcome to Permanent Secretary Louka.

Mr Chair, dear Andreas, I want to start by thanking you for your calm and professional stewardship of this Forum over the past trimester and to thank you and your whole team for ensuring that this Forum has remained relevant and able to fulfil its mandate.

We fully support your efforts to keep this Forum focused on Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine, an invasion in its third year which continues to challenge the foundations of European security; which continues to violate the UN Charter; and which continues to flagrantly disregard the Helsinki Final Act’s core principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the non-use of force. Under your stewardship, we have shown that these principles and this Forum continue to matter; and that we will keep on defending both. This matters and we do not take it for granted.

Mr Chair, your Security Dialogues this trimester focused different thematic lenses on Ukraine. On issues including Humanitarian Mine Action, International Humanitarian Law, Environment and Security, and Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). I was particularly encouraged by the strong turn out last week for the WPS Security Dialogue and at your Side Event on gender. It remains essential that we continue to champion women’s full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in political and peace processes.

Since 24 February 2022, we have seen the extraordinary determination of the Ukrainian people to defend their homeland. Each week, we have voiced our unequivocal support for Ukraine. And each week, we have condemned President Putin’s grave miscalculation of invading a sovereign neighbour. Russia thinks it can wait this war out, and that the West will eventually turn its attention elsewhere. Each week, we prove that is untrue.

Sadly, Russia has continued its destructive path in the OSCE. For a second trimester in a row, Russia blocked consensus on holding formal FSC Security Dialogues on International Humanitarian Law. On both occasions, Russia proposed speakers with no relevant expertise, before incorrectly implying that the Rules of Procedure conferred on it an entitlement to have panellists. Last week, Russia – once again – warned future FSC Chairs to hold what Russia considers ‘balanced’ Dialogues with speakers of its own choosing. The Rules of Procedure are clear – selecting security dialogue topics and speakers remains the prerogative of the FSC Chair. Russia’s threats have no basis in our rules – or indeed in diplomatic etiquette.

Mr Chair, Russia’s actions in the FSC this trimester are sadly a continuation of what I said last Trimester. The Russian delegation can throw up as much chaff as they like about the work of the FSC and other States’ interactions with this Forum. But there is one simple fact that lies behind any dysfunction in the FSC. And that is that one participating State, Russia, has invaded another and in doing so trampled over the principles of this organisation and of international humanitarian law. Everything else is subordinate to and derivative from that act of brutality. Perhaps that is why Russia continues to do everything it can to avoid a discussion on these issues. Thank you again, Mr Chair, for standing up to such behaviour.

I wish to conclude by thanking Canada as it leaves the FSC Troika, and to welcome Denmark. The incoming Chair, Croatia, can count on the UK’s full and continued support next trimester – including in its prerogative as Chair. Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 March 2024.

UK statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children. Delivered by UK Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French.

Thank you, Mr President.

We welcome the report and advocacy of the Special Representative to end violence against children around the world, and for bringing our collective attention to the specific vulnerabilities faced by children on the move.

Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine continues to gravely violate children’s rights. Over 19,500 Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred or deported to Russia or Russian temporarily controlled territory by Russian authorities. Only 388 children have so far been returned to Ukraine.

We are also deeply concerned by reports that Ukrainian children forcibly taken from Ukraine are being adopted in Russia. This is a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine’s future.

We are determined to hold to account those responsible for forcibly deporting and attempting to indoctrinate Ukrainian children.

We call for Russia to cease its aggression and for the immediate, safe return of all Ukrainian children so that they can rightly be reunited with their families and loved ones, where they belong.

Madam Special Representative,

In your report you highlight the importance of the right of the child to preserve their identity in the context of conflicts. How can your mandate contribute to our collective endeavour to safely return all Ukrainian children?

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 March 2024.

On 13 March the UK announced a further £5.2 million to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, at the launch of the 2024 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Geneva.

UK statement delivered at the launch of the 2024 Joint Response Plan, hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the Government of Bangladesh.

High Commissioner Grandi, Director General Pope, Foreign Secretary and Principal Secretary, and colleagues.

I would like to begin by recognising the significant efforts of the Government of Bangladesh in hosting almost one million Rohingya refugees for over six years. I would also like to thank our humanitarian partners, their staff and the volunteers on the ground, for continuing to deliver such a comprehensive response.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh and the worsening situation in Myanmar, including for the Rohingya in Rakhine state. Their suffering has only been compounded by the escalation of the conflict. We will continue to use our role as UN Security Council penholder to seek to address the worsening situation in Myanmar and to push for a long-term solution to the Rohingya’s suffering.

Until the conditions in Myanmar allow for the refugees to return in a voluntary, safe and dignified manner, the UK remains committed to supporting the Rohingya in Bangladesh, as emphasised in our pledge at the Global Refugee Forum in December.

I am therefore pleased to announce today that the UK is providing a further £5.2 million of humanitarian assistance, including food and cooking gas, to the Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar. This brings the UK’s support to the Rohingya and neighbouring communities in Bangladesh to £379 million since 2017. The UK has also provided over £30 million for Rohingya and other Muslim communities in Rakhine State in this period, and we commit to providing further assistance in 2024.

We welcome this year’s Joint Response Plan. The response in Bangladesh continues to provide vital assistance and we welcome the positive progress, including the completion of the Myanmar curriculum rollout, and an increase in skills development opportunities.

However, we are deeply troubled by the overall deterioration in conditions for the refugees last year. As we have heard today, protection incidents and insecurity rose significantly; two ration cuts pushed malnutrition to emergency levels, the highest since 2017; and the number of Rohingya undertaking dangerous journeys at sea rose by 22%.

We all know that globally the gap between humanitarian needs and funding continues to grow. It is therefore essential that the response continues to work in the most effective and efficient way possible to meet the needs of those affected.

We recognise the challenges that the Government of Bangladesh faces in managing this situation. The UK will continue to work supportively and collaboratively with your government, Foreign Secretary and Principal Secretary, taking into account your concerns about the impact of the refugee presence, in order to find a sustainable way forward. This involves:

• continuing to support the Rohingya and affected Bangladeshi communities;
• addressing the worsening protection and security challenges in the camps;
• providing safe shelters that protect the Rohingya against cyclones and fires; and,
• offering the Rohingya more self-reliance, and less dependence on humanitarian aid.

Let me end by reiterating the UK’s commitment to the Rohingya, and the communities that host them, and to working with you all to resolve the underlying causes of this tragic crisis.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 March 2024.

Around 150 tonnes of UK aid, including more than 13,000 blankets and 840 family-sized tents, have entered Gaza today.

• a UK field hospital will arrive this week to provide life-saving medical care
• Foreign Secretary also announces further £10 million in aid funding, bringing UK support to more than £100 million this financial year

Around 150 tonnes of UK aid, including more than 13,000 blankets and 840 family-sized tents, have entered Gaza today, where the United Nations [UNICEF] will distribute them to those in need.

In addition, a full field hospital, provided by UK Aid funding to UK-Med, will arrive this week. The facility can be adapted according to needs on the ground and usually includes a pharmacy, triage area, major injuries and resuscitation unit, and maternity care tent.

The field hospital left Manchester on 5 March and is on route to Gaza. This facility can be operational in as little as 48 hours and will be able to treat more than 100 patients a day. It will be staffed by both local health workers and international medics, including many from the UK, on the UK-Med Register.

Alongside the latest deliveries of aid, the Foreign Secretary has announced a further £10 million in aid funding for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), bringing the total spend to over £100 million this financial year. This funding will support UN agencies on the ground to deliver lifesaving aid and will also provide core relief items, such as tents, for the most vulnerable.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said:

Too many people in Gaza are suffering. No one should be without basic amenities like shelter and bedding, and everyone deserves the dignity that basic hygiene kits provide. Our largest aid delivery, combined with a new UK funded field hospital, will save lives.

But an immediate pause in the fighting is the only way to get aid into Gaza in the quantities desperately needed. This will also allow for the safe release of hostages.

We could then work towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting or loss of life.

Today’s additional 150 tonnes of UK core relief items for UNICEF will include 840 family tents, 13,440 blankets, almost 3,000 shelter kits, and shelter-fixing kits, 6,000 sleeping mats and more than 3,000 dignity kits to support women and girls.

An estimated 3.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in the OPTs, with over half a million at risk from famine.

The UK is committed to ensuring aid reaches those who need it most, as Palestinians continue to face a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary has been clear that Israel must increase capacity to safely distribute aid within Gaza. This includes opening a land crossing in the north and issuing more visas to UN staff who are capable of delivering aid when it arrives in Gaza.

Ahead of this new funding, the UK had previously trebled its aid commitment to the OPTs. UK funding has supported the work of partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to deliver vital supplies.

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

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. UK statement at HRC55.

The United Kingdom welcomes the Special Rapporteur’s report, and fully supports meaningful participation of child and youth human rights defenders at the UN.

Child and youth human rights defenders are increasingly at the forefront of movements that bring about positive change. Their expertise and representation of marginalised groups should enrich decision-making and improve accountability. Sadly, that role is not recognised by all, and alongside the risks faced by all human rights defenders, they must contend with age-related discrimination in various forms.

Improvement in monitoring is required to ensure violence against child and youth human rights defenders is recorded and can be used to facilitate justice and accountability.

As part of our support for civil society and human rights defenders in crisis, we have recently made a new £1 million financial commitment to the Lifeline fund which supports Civil Society Organizations and human rights defenders which are under threat due to their vital work. We are co-chairing Lifeline this year as part of our commitment to supporting organisations under threat of reprisal for their work in advancing rights, freedoms and democratic values.

Mr. Vice-President, how can the United Nations systematically involve child and youth human rights defenders in UN decision-making processes that affect them?

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

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. UK statement at HRC55.

Thank you, Madame Vice-President.

I would like to thank the Special Rapporteur for his work and reaffirm our support for his mandate.

The UK strongly believes that to be truly effective and sustainable, our Counter Terrorism and Counter Violent Extremism efforts must respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. Failing to do so risks exacerbating the conditions conducive to terrorism, and undermining the very values that the UN was established to promote.

We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s undertaking to consider the impact of new technologies in countering terrorism. We reaffirm that all measures to deliver security must conform with international human rights law.

Furthermore, we highlight your recommendations that the United Nations counter-terrorism bodies engage with diverse civil society organisations, and your efforts to maintain focus on the impact that counter-terrorism and violent extremism measures have on a civic space.

Special Rapporteur,

What more could be done by States to assess the human rights implications of new technologies on counter-terrorism and counter violent extremism efforts?

Thank you.

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

UK Statement for the Panel on Countering Religious Hatred. Statement not delivered due to time constraints.

Mr President,

In recent months, we have seen a shocking increase in hatred and intolerance. Jewish children are scared to go to school. Muslim women have been abused in the street.

Let me be clear – we unequivocally condemn incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence, wherever this occurs.

The United Kingdom is a proud multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy. However, we are cognisant of the challenges we face. So we are seeking to address the underlying causes of religious hatred while supporting all victims, including through:

• funding Tell MAMA, the leading national organisation to monitor and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred.
• our Protective Security for Mosques Scheme.
• funding the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant.

We agree with the Special Rapporteur that we must strike a balance – combatting religious hatred whilst upholding all human rights including freedom of religion, belief, speech and expression.

These issues are complex. But we must be prepared to stand up for our shared values. And to draw a line, as international human rights law does. There is no space for religious intolerance and hatred in pluralistic, modern societies.

The time has now come for us to stand together to combat and overcome the poisonous forces of division we face.

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

Statement by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon at the United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

Thank you, Mr President.

May I firstly thank the Special Representative Pramila Patten for briefing us on her recent visit and may I take this opportunity, SRSG, to applaud your tireless work on this agenda in standing up in defence and protection of victims and survivors of sexual violence.

Your visit was profoundly important. And your report, an essential insight into the shocking crimes you’ve just illustrated. It is therefore right that the Security Council considers it today.

As we have seen in conflicts around the world, it’s a tragic fact, sexual violence is used to terrorise civilians. Mr President, it shatters lives. It leaves brutal and lifelong scars on victims, their families, and communities.

We are collectively and rightly appalled by reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas on 7 October and against hostages.

I refer to the report and note with deep concern the findings of SRSG Patten, including “reasonable grounds” to believe that sexual violence occurred in Israel on 7 October and the existence of, and I quote, “clear and convincing” information that sexual violence has been committed against hostages.

Mr President, it is deeply disturbing to know that “such violence may be ongoing against those still in captivity” a direct quote from the report. We continue to call an immediate, safe and unconditional release of all hostages.

And to work through every channel to secure an immediate stop in the fighting, then progress towards a sustainable ceasefire – because, for us, that is the best route to achieve this.

I am also deeply shocked by the very concerning reports, referenced in the SRSG report and also by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, of sexual violence perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinian detainees of which we’ve just heard, who have been arrested and held by Israel.

These reports, as we’ve heard, are being investigated. I therefore call on Israel to take immediate measures to prevent conflict-related sexual violence, to abide by international humanitarian law, and to ensure thorough investigations into these reports, and ultimately for perpetrators to be held to account.

Mr President let me be absolutely clear – we the United Kingdom condemn conflict-related sexual violence unequivocally, wherever it occurs, and stand in solidarity with all victims and survivors.

Put it simply, it must stop. Perpetrators must be held accountable. Survivors must receive holistic support and I call on all members of this Security Council to be unequivocal on these points.

And may I say to both Israelis and Palestinians, and their representatives here today that the United Kingdom, as a friend to both, is ready to support.

As The PM’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, here is my offer on behalf of the United Kingdom. We have our PSVI Team of Experts, who have already deployed over 90 times.

We have The Murad Code, launched last April in this very Council, which sets out minimum standards to ensure survivors are not retraumatised when they are interviewed.

We have our Stigma Toolkit which provides practical measures to address the stigma faced by survivors in criminal justice systems.

Indeed, earlier today I chaired a meeting with members of the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, and I was pleased that SRSG Patten was able to attend. Alongside a colleague of mine, Baroness Helic who was instrumental in establishing this very initiative I lead in 2012, to consider new and innovative ways to ensure crimes are fully investigated, testimonies are held to allow for successful prosecution and those who survive these shocking and abhorrent crimes – the incredible, courageous, brave survivors – are supported fully in rebuilding their lives.

We fully agree with the SRSG that investigations should be conducted in a safe and ethical manner consistent with a survivor-centred approach.

Mr President, all reports of sexual violence must be fully investigated to ensure justice for survivors and victims.

Mr President, justice delayed is justice denied. And for the United Kingdom it remains that a two-state solution is the only way to achieve justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

The first step must be an immediate stop to the fighting leading to a permanent, sustainable ceasefire. The release of all hostages, and vital humanitarian, life-saving aid to be delivered to Gaza. It is this solution that we seek.

We owe it to the legacy of every innocent civilian killed in Israel and across the Occupied Palestinian Territories to utilise every lever we have and every channel we have in pursuit of this noble objective.

Thank you, Mr President.