Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 26 February 2024.

Minister Lord (Tariq) Ahmad gave a statement after publication of an OPCW report that found Daesh responsible for a 2015 sulphur mustard attack in Marea, Syria.

The Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, UN and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has condemned Daesh use of chemical weapons in Syria. An Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) report found that Daesh fighters are responsible for a chemical weapons attack using sulphur mustard in Marea in the Syrian Arab Republic in September 2015.

We commend the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)’s Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) for its expert and independent analysis which has found Daesh was responsible for the use of chemical weapons on civilians in Marea in 2015. The IIT have shown consistent resilience and professionalism in attributing responsibility in cases of both state and non-state actors use in Syria. They have our full support.

This report adds to the shocking track record of Daesh use of chemical weapons. The OPCW–UN Joint Investigative Mechanism previously found Daesh responsible for 3 other attacks in Marea in 2015 and in Umm Hawsh in 2016. We condemn all use of chemical weapons during the Syrian conflict perpetrated by Daesh and the Assad regime. UN and OPCW mandated investigations have found the Assad regime responsible for at least 9 chemical weapons attacks including using sarin and chlorine.

The international community should be gravely concerned about the threat of non-state actors developing, acquiring, and using chemical weapons. The proliferation risk in Syria has only been exacerbated by instability in the region. We urge all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention to cooperate to implement the Decision on ‘Addressing the Threat from Chemical Weapons Use and the Threat of Future Use’ adopted in November 2023, which expressed concern about use by state and non-state actors in Syria.

This is the fourth report by the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) into chemical weapons attacks in Syria (PDF, 1.5 MB). Following a rigorous and independent analysis of the evidence, the OPCW’s report has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that units of Daesh were the perpetrators of a chemical weapons attack using sulphur mustard on Marea on 1 September 2015 in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Previous reports from the OPCW’s IIT had found the Assad regime responsible for attacks on Saraqib and Douma in 2018 using chlorine, and 3 separate attacks with sarin and chlorine in Ltamenah in March 2017. All use of chemical weapons is prohibited under international law.

The United Kingdom is determined that those responsible for chemical weapons attacks should be identified and held to account. As well as our support to the OPCW, the UK has imposed sanctions under the UK’s Syria Sanctions regime and Chemical Weapons Sanctions regime on 32 individuals and 7 entities previously identified for their involvement in Syria’s chemical weapons programme. Designated persons are subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 February 2024.

£4.25 million in UK aid will help ensure UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, can provide life-saving support to vulnerable women and girls.

The Foreign Secretary has announced new funding to tackle the sexual and reproductive healthcare crisis in Gaza. The £4.25 million in UK aid will help ensure UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, can provide life-saving support to vulnerable women and girls.

This support is expected to reach about 111,500 women, around 1 in 5 of the adult women in Gaza. It will support up to 100 community midwives, the distribution of around 20,000 menstrual hygiene management kits and 45,000 clean delivery kits.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron confirmed the additional funding in response to a UN flash appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Women and girls are particularly at risk from disease, pregnancy complications and gender-based violence in Gaza currently, with 85% of people displaced and currently just 13 out of the 36 hospitals partially functional, with one specialist maternity hospital functioning.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said:

Women are bearing the brunt of the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza today. Many thousands of women are currently pregnant and will be worrying about delivering their babies safely.

This new UK funding will help make giving birth safer and improve the lives of mothers and their new-born babies.

We need to see an immediate pause in the fighting so we can secure the safe release of hostages, get more aid in, and allow organisations like UNFPA to do their vital work effectively.

UNFPA Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem, said:

In Gaza, the reality for women and girls is horrific – and getting worse each day. They have little to no access to essential health services and menstrual supplies, and many are forced to give birth in unsafe conditions that put their lives and those of their babies at risk.

The support of the United Kingdom and other partners is vital to get lifesaving resources directly to women and girls in desperate need.

UNFPA is providing life-saving reproductive health supplies for women and girls in Gaza. Since the most recent crisis began, UNFPA has provided nearly 74,000 adolescents and children with psychosocial support and financial support for over 2,000 vulnerable women at risk of gender-based violence to purchase essential menstrual and hygiene items.

There were an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza at the start of the crisis, with more than 180 births occurring each day and over 5,500 women expected to deliver in the next month.

The UK has trebled our aid commitment to the Occupied Palestinian Territories this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings, including calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out.

Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.

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

The initiative, including delegations from Brazil and Colombia, is the first UK funded bioeconomy mission in the region.

The UK Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Lord Richard Benyon, visited Costa Rica, alongside high-level delegations from Brazil and Colombia, as part of the first-ever regional bioeconomy mission funded by the UK, aimed at fostering collaboration and sharing experiences on advancing a prosperous bioeconomy.

At the inaugural conference, “Bioeconomy Futures: Collaborative pathways between the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Colombia and Brazil,” the UK Ambassador to Costa Rica, Ben Lyster-Binns, welcomed high-level officials and experts, including UK Minister Lord Benyon; Bioeconomy Secretary of Brazil, Carina Pimenta; Vice Minister of Business Development of Colombia, Soraya Caro; and Bioeconomy Minister of Argentina, Fernando Vilella, who had joined virtually.

Ambassador Lyster-Binns reminded attendees that international cooperation and knowledge exchange were key to taking full advantage of the bioeconomy’s potential to drive sustainable development. He expressed the hope that the day’s deliberations would help strengthen the enabling environment for the development of the bioeconomy in the participating countries, especially for small and medium enterprises.

During the ministerial panel discussion, Minister Benyon highlighted the UK’s work across government to ensure the country meets its climate and nature targets. He also made reference to UK government commitments to regional initiatives, such as an initial £2 million through the UK’s Blue Planet Fund, £80 million for the Amazon Fund and a wider shared commitment to get £30 billion a year for nature flowing in to developing countries by 2030, mobilising a global total of £200bn a year by 2030.

Later in the week, field trips to the coffee cooperative CoopeTarrazu, the Costa Rica Institute of Technology and the Manuel Antonio National Park provided insight into biotechnology initiatives and scientific research underway in the country to boost the bioeconomy, as well as ongoing efforts and strategies to protect and conserve Costa Rica’s prized biodiversity.

Lord Benyon also held meetings with the Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arnoldo André; Environment Minister Franz Tattenbach; and Vice Minister for Foreign Trade, Indiana Trejos, as well as with non-governmental organisations working in the area of climate and environment.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 24 February 2024.

Four Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, supported by two Voyager tankers, again participated in a deliberate coalition strike on Saturday 24 February against Houthi military facilities in Yemen which had been conducting missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping and coalition naval forces in the Bab al Mandab, southern Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden.

The RAF aircraft were allocated multiple targets located at two sites.

Intelligence analysis had successfully identified several very long-range drones, used by the Houthis for both reconnaissance and attack missions, at a former surface-to-air missile battery site several miles north-east of Sanaa. Our aircraft used Paveway IV precision guided bombs against the drones and their launchers, notwithstanding the Houthis’ use of the old missile battery revetments to try to protect the drones.

Previous RAF strikes, on 11 January and 3 February, had already successfully destroyed a number of buildings used to support drone and cruise missile operations at Bani, some fifteen miles west of Abbs airfield in north-western Yemen. Additional buildings at the Bani site had subsequently been confirmed as also being involved in the drone and missile activities there and were therefore targeted during this latest strike.

In planning the strikes, as is normal practice with such RAF operations, the greatest possible care was taken to minimise any risk of civilian casualties.

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

In response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against commercial and naval vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways, today the militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted an additional round of strikes against several targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

Today’s necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets across 8 locations in Yemen associated with Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter. These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, naval vessels, and the lives of innocent mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

These strikes are in response to Houthis’ continued attacks against commercial and naval vessels that have not only endangered international seafarers but the lives of the Yemeni people, including the February 22 missile attack that struck the United Kingdom-owned M/V Islander and injured a crewmember, the February 19 missile attack that nearly struck the U.S.-owned M/V Sea Champion while delivering humanitarian aid to Yemen, the February 19 UAV attack that struck the U.S.-owned M/V Navis Fortuna, and the February 18 missile attack that struck the United Kingdom-owned M/V Rubymar and forced the crew to abandon the ship.

The Houthis’ now more than 45 attacks on commercial and naval vessels since mid-November constitute a threat to the global economy, as well as regional security and stability, and demand an international response. Our coalition of likeminded countries remains committed to protecting freedom of navigation and international commerce and holding the Houthis accountable for their illegal and unjustifiable attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels.

Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but we will once again reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in the face of continued threats.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 February 2024.

UK Minister of State, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, addressed a Reinforced meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, underling support for Ukraine and the role of the OSCE and its founding principles.

Thank you, Minister Borg for bringing us all together. And thank you again for your leadership as Chair at such a challenging time.

The OSCE exists to support security in our region.

So it is absolutely fitting that we gather today, two years after the illegal, unprovoked and wholly unjustified invasion of one of our participating States by another.

Ministers discussed this in Skopje. Since then, the fundamentals have not changed.

First, it remains absolutely clear that Russia is responsible.

As time passes, Russia twists itself into even more implausible contortions to justify its position.

But the reality of Russia’s war is tragic.

Because people are still dying every day in Ukraine.

Russia’s defiance of all laws and norms – from the Helsinki Decalogue to the UN Charter – to long-standing principles of just war …

… is not only a threat to security in our region, …

… but it is a threat to the international order.

Nevertheless, it is heartening that there are few illusions here about what Russia is doing.

We must, however, continue to make it absolutely clear: there is no possible defence for Russia’s behaviour.

Secondly, we must stand with Ukraine and stand up for human rights.

Dmytro, your soldiers and your people continue to defy the odds.

They display the utmost bravery and great skill in keeping Moscow under pressure. Consider the news in recent weeks.

Another Russian transport ship sunk by Ukraine – a further blow to President Putin’s hold on Crimea.

A precious A-50 spy plane and over-hyped hypersonic Kinzhal missiles struck down – a further blow to President Putin’s stocks of modern military equipment.

And news that Ukraine is on track to export all its 2023 grain – a further blow to President Putin’s strategy of economic pressure.

Since we last met, my Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Ukraine.

Addressing the Rada, he said: “Be in no doubt…. We are here for Ukraine – for as long as it takes.”

I know this is a shared conviction; I see a quiet determination across most states, to stand with Ukraine, and to stand up for our values.

Finally, we must of course also back the OSCE.

The creation of this organisation heralded a new age.

It took time. But the Cold War ended. And a new age did dawn.

An age in which we all, here at the OSCE, sought to build a more constructive relationship with Moscow.

Sadly, President Putin has rejected this.

Indeed, Kremlin repression in defiance of OSCE principles continues unabated, with the tragic death of Alexei Navalny showing how they silence those who speak out.

It is clear that President Putin will not stop in his reckless actions.

He has rejected the hope represented by the OSCE.

So we must redouble our efforts to maintain this organisation– times like these show us more than ever why it is needed.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 February 2024.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron gave a statement to the United Nations General Assembly Debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Thank you, Mr President. Today, I want to cover 3 points.

First, the history. Two years ago, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

But let’s go back a little further. In 2008, I visited Tbilisi in Georgia shortly after Russian forces invaded South Ossetia. I said then that if we did not stand up to Putin, he would be back for more.

In 2014, I was Prime Minister as his ‘little green men’ seized control of Crimea. I said again that if we did not stand up to Putin, he would be back for more.

Now, having tried and failed to conquer all of Ukraine, the lesson of this history is clear. If we do not stand up to Putin, he will be back for more.

Compared to 2008 and 2014, I do believe the world has started properly to wake up to Putin’s menace. Yet here is the tragedy of it all.

Prior to 2014, did Ukraine pose a threat to Russia? No.

Did Russia object to the formation of the Ukrainian state in 1991? No.

Did it in 1994, when signing the Budapest Memorandum? No – in fact Russia pledged never to use force against Ukraine.

If the Ukrainian state was such a threat to Russian-speaking residents, why did every region of Ukraine vote for independence, Crimea and the Donbas included?

Cut through ludicrous accusations of Nazism against a state with a Jewish President, and what are you left with? Nothing but the ahistorical claim that Ukraine’s very existence is ‘anti-Russian’. A claim which runs contrary to the principle of self-determination, one of the foundations of the United Nations.

Putin tries to claim that Russia is fighting not against Ukraine, but against the whole of the West. He claims we are somehow out to dismember Russia. That is the central lie of this war.

The truth is we – myself included – spent years trying to build a new relationship with Moscow after the end of the Cold War. We did that because we profoundly believe that a secure, stable Russia, at peace with its neighbours, is in our interests and the world’s.

It is a tragedy that Putin prefers to hark back to the ninth century to justify aggression, rather than taking up this offer of a different path.

And turning to the consequences of all this. The scenes in territories liberated from Russia defy belief.

Take Bucha. As has just been said, mutilated bodies of civilians with hands bound, shot at close range. A children’s centre turned into a torture chamber. The rape of teenage girls. Disturbing radio intercepts of Russian soldiers referring to this as ‘cleansing’.

Or consider places still held by Russia. Business gone. Independent media quashed. The rights of minorities, such as the Crimean Tartars, denied. Sinister ‘re-education centres’. Forcible deportations, with children torn from their parents to be raised as ‘Russians’. Ukrainians forced to accept Russian passports, or drafted to fight for Putin. Citizens forced to vote in sham referendums and now, outrageously, Russian Presidential elections held on Ukrainian territory.

Crimea in particular now far more dependent on Moscow for budgetary support than it ever was to Kyiv. Invasion has brought these regions neither peace nor prosperity.

And nor has Putin’s gambit benefited Russians. No Russian soldier had died fighting Ukraine before 2014 – now they have suffered over 300,000 casualties. Moreover, since the invasion, Russia has suffered its first attempted coup in over 3 decades, and its first debt default for over a century.

Nor has the rest of the world been spared the consequences of this war. Rising energy and food costs have fuelled inflation. This has had consequences, especially for the world’s poorest.

And this leads to my final point, why we must stay strong.

Two years on, I recognise some want to rethink. There is a sense of fatigue, there are other problems, a compromise might seem attractive. But this is wrong.

We must recognise the cost of giving up. Putin has said there will be no peace until Russia’s goals are achieved. And in his recent interview, he studiously avoided confirming he was satisfied with the land seized from Ukraine at present.

This is not a man seeking compromise. Rather, this is a neo-imperialist bully who believes might is right. An unjust peace now merely invites a return to fighting in Ukraine when it suits him.

But ultimately we must stay strong not only for the sake of Ukraine. Yes, Ukraine has been wronged. Yes, we admire their decision to pursue a democratic path, and fight for their right to do so. But crucially, we also know that this matters to all of us.

If Putin were to eke out some kind of win, the rest of the world would suffer too. What starts in Ukraine would not end there. Putin could easily apply his distortions of history elsewhere, such as Moldova or the Baltic States.

And others will be emboldened to turn to fighting when it suits them. No country with a large, aggressive neighbour would be safe.

And that leads to the other great lie. Russia poses as a friend of those who feel cut out by the international system, but it has shown no interest in changes to make it fairer, such as Security Council reform. It does virtually nothing to support the key funds to back the poorest of our world such as GAVI or the Global Fund or the IDA under the World Bank. And its actions in Ukraine are so brazen so as to threaten the system itself.

So yes, we should stand by Ukraine. But not just for Ukraine. Not just for Europe. But for the world and a simple principle.

The security of borders. The sanctity of nations. The principle of self-determination.

Ukraine’s fight is our fight. The world’s fight. And the world must stay strong.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 February 2024.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron spoke at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine, marking 2 years since Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Thank you, Madam President, and Mr Secretary General.

We meet 2 years since Vladimir Putin ordered a wholly unprovoked invasion of a sovereign member of the United Nations. Airstrikes at dawn. Tanks rolling across the border. Preposterous claims this was not a declaration of war.

In many ways, the most remarkable thing was the total lack of any justification whatsoever of any threat from Ukraine. The abject disregard for the laws that bind nations, and for the principles of this United Nations. The brazenness with which Putin still claimed this was somehow legitimate.

Days after February the 24th, the United Nations General Assembly declared that the invasion was wrong and that Russia must withdraw immediately. Two years on, this has not changed. And so today, I want to pose 2 questions.

My first, to the Kremlin.

My first visit as Foreign Secretary was to Ukraine.  I stood in the wreckage of Odesa’s bombed-out cathedral. I saw brave Ukrainians kissing loved ones goodbye as they left to defend their homeland.

And I know that such scenes are not limited to Ukraine. Russian mothers too have had to bid farewell to Russian sons, Russian cities too now bear the scars of war.

So my question to Putin is simple. Why? His government claims this to be a battle between brothers. What twisted form of brotherhood is this, for which so many lives must be ruined?

How is Russia living up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of this Council to uphold international peace and security? And how many ridiculous explanations have we now had for the invasion? Are they criminals, or fellow Russians?

One minute Ukraine is an existential threat. The next we’re told it doesn’t exist. Are you fighting stooges of NATO, or Nazis?

The only people behaving like Nazis are the Putin regime: invading another country and hoping the world will be weak and let you get away with it. That is the simple truth: Putin believes he can take territories, re-draw borders, exercise force to build his empire. And we must not let this stand.

We know Ukraine’s answer. We saw the courage of President Zelenskyy 2 years ago.

And I say to the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, he is quite capable, and the Ukrainian people are quite capable, of making up their own mind about whether they should surrender part of their country to your illegal invasion.

And today, we admire the perseverance of the Ukrainian people, day in, day out. They won’t falter.  Indeed, they are continuing to push Russia back, liberating half the land Putin has seized and driving the Russian navy out of its base in Sevastapol.

The course of the war may ebb and flow. But the seizure of a small town does not change the reality of Russia’s situation. The Russian military is being drained of its modern equipment. You’re having to rely on poor quality shells from Pyongyang.  And you’ve sent a generation of Russian boys into the meat grinder. What do you tell their mothers they died for? Or don’t you even bother?

The Kremlin expected Ukraine to fold. But they are standing firm for their freedom. And you should all know Britain’s answer as well.

Last month, the Prime Minister was the first foreign leader to address the Rada. We are the first country to have signed a security pact with Ukraine.

And yesterday we imposed further sanctions, clamping down on Russia’s military-industrial complex and those enablers seeking to keep it running. These sanctions are a reminder. We won’t falter. We will stand firm for Ukraine’s freedom.

And the world has also seen Alexei Navalny’s answer. He showed incredible courage in returning to Russia. He didn’t falter. And he has now suffered terrible consequences for standing firm for Russian democracy.

And today is an opportunity, Secretary General,  to give the world’s answer.

All of us abhor needless suffering. None of us have escaped the economic consequences of the war. And yet, we all know what is at stake here.

In acting so brazenly, Putin is not only trying to seize a chunk of his neighbour’s territory. He is not only trying to extinguish the Ukrainian people’s right to self-determination. He is openly trying to upset the international order, replacing it not with some progressive vision of equality of nations but with a return to a 19th century ideology where might – particularly his might – is right.

This is why we all must stand up to Putin. Not just out of sympathy for Ukraine. But because his actions in Ukraine are so dangerous for everyone else.

If we give into the idea that one country can invade another with impunity, then we will be left in a dreadful situation where any country could face a similar fate. Respect for sovereignty lies at the heart of the international system. At the heart of the United Nations.  Nothing matters more to its members than having our borders treated as inviolable.

And that’s why nothing should matter more to us than seeing Putin fail. We must not falter. We must stand firm.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 22 February 2024.

The Foreign Secretary and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira held talks at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro today [22 February 2024] to discuss how the international community can respond to major global challenges.

They agreed on the urgent need for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. The Foreign Secretary set out the UK’s plan for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, and then progress towards a sustainable permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting, and loss of life.

On Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Foreign Secretary stressed the devastating human impact of the war and the importance of Brazil’s perspective on the world stage in building peace. He encouraged Brazil to follow its own principles and use their available channels, including BRICS and their G20 Presidency, to urge Russia to end its unprovoked and illegal invasion and create room for diplomacy.

The UK supports the Brazil Presidency in reforming global governance and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals. The Foreign Secretary said that international order needs to adapt and global institutions ‘needed to be reformed, not completely upended,’ including the UK’s support for permanent Security Council seats for Brazil, India, Japan, Germany and permanent representation from Africa.

The Foreign Secretary emphasised the need to go beyond national aid budgets and use all the resources at countries’ disposal to deliver a bigger, better, bolder and fairer international financial system that delivers for all. This includes making Multilateral Development Banks operate more effectively and reforming the World Trade Organisation to reduce protectionism. He pushed for global action to tackle Anti-Microbial Resistance, which is now responsible for more deaths than Tuberculosis, HIV AIDS, and Malaria.

The Foreign Secretary also signed a Defence Capability Collaboration Arrangement which will help modernise Brazil’s defence industrial base via UK expertise, strengthening UK-Brazil ties.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 22 February 2024.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza.

Thank you, President, and thank you Special Coordinator Wennesland for your briefing today.

Mr Lockyear I join others in offering condolences to the families and friends of those who’ve lost their lives, and also I salute the courage of those who’ve decided to stay. Your briefing to us was harrowing and your message was unequivocal and clear and I thank you for that.

Colleagues, we all know that Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We want the fighting to stop now.

But simply calling for a ceasefire now doesn’t make it happen and won’t make it sustainable.  That is why we are calling for an immediate suspension in fighting to get aid in and hostages out, and then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and death.

That means: the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas’s capability to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and, a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.

Current negotiations are critical to secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza as well as progress towards our shared objective of a sustainable ceasefire. The UK government continues to work intensively with partners across the region to support this and we call on all actors to do the same.

President, we are gravely concerned by the prospect of an Israeli offensive on Rafah which would have disastrous consequences for the civilians sheltering there with nowhere else to go.

Over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area, and the Rafah crossing is vital to ensure aid can reach the people who so desperately need it.

That is why the immediate priority must be a suspension in the fighting, which is the best route to secure the safe release of hostages and significantly step up the aid reaching Gaza.

We are also gravely concerned that the UN World Food Programme has had to pause deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza. We continue to stress the need for Israel to support the UN to distribute aid effectively across the whole of Gaza, including in the north as the Special Coordinator referred to. And for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza. Nitzana and Kerem Shalom must be open for longer.

Israel must also ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.

As we approach Ramadan, we urge all parties to call for calm and not inflame tensions around the holy sites. We call on everyone to respect their sanctity and security.

Now more than ever we need to generate momentum towards a permanent peace. The UK will continue to work intensively in support of a two-state solution which guarantees justice, peace and security for the people of two states – Israel and Palestine.

I thank you.