The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 December 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on the Central African region.

Thank you President, and thank you SRSG Abarry for your briefing. I will make four points today.

First, as the Secretary-General notes in his report, the region faces continued risk of instability, highlighted by recent coups and violence. As the recent COP28 summit reminds us, this vulnerability is exacerbated by climate change. The United Kingdom encourages member states in the region to commit to inclusive, credible, and accountable political and transitional processes and to engage with UNOCA. The Council too must do its part to support UNOCA’s important stabilising efforts in the subregion, including on climate change.

Second, when SRSG Abarry briefed the Council in June, he spoke of the opportunities and challenges in the region through elections and transitions. In this regard, the UK welcomes progress made on the political transition in Chad. We urge the authorities to ensure the referendum process is peaceful, inclusive and respects fundamental rights and freedoms. We thank Chad and other states in the region for their continued support to refugees from Sudan. The UK has provided $18 million to support the humanitarian response in Eastern Chad.

Third, there is an opportunity for a turning point in Gabon. The UK encourages the transitional authorities to ensure a return to constitutional order through an inclusive and credible transition. We are reassured by the roadmap to elections in August 2025 and hope to see a genuinely inclusive National Dialogue in April 2024. We urge the transitional authorities to fulfil the democratic aspirations of all Gabonese, with UNOCA’s support and the engagement of regional partners.

Finally in Cameroon, challenges to progress remain. The UK remains deeply concerned at the ongoing violence and we continue to work with multilateral partners to mitigate the worst impacts of this on the population, including supporting human rights defenders and women peacebuilders. We encourage parties to ensure dialogue efforts are inclusive.

Thank you, President.

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 13 December 2023.

• The Deputy Prime Minister chaired the first meeting of the Economic Security Public-Private Forum on Monday. The Deputy Prime Minister and Business Secretary are co-chairs of the Forum, which will meet quarterly.
• Attendees from 11 businesses across sectors like AI, communications, and defence received a declassified threat briefing from the National Protective Security Authority.
• The meeting builds on commitments made in the Integrated Review Refresh 2023 for closer cooperation with businesses on security.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business and Trade joined leaders from some of the most critical sectors of the UK economy on Monday, for a declassified economic security briefing from the National Protective Security Authority.

The briefing took place during the first meeting of the Economic Security Public-Private Sector Forum, which has been convened by the Deputy Prime Minister to share intelligence-led advice and promote greater cooperation with businesses on national security.

During the briefing, business leaders were told the threats posed by terrorists and states are diversifying. State actors are increasingly seeking to steal intellectual property from both established businesses and emerging technologies developed in the UK. Attendees were then briefed on the steps their organisations can take to defend themselves.

Businesses represented at the Forum included: Babcock; Blueskeye AI; UK Finance; British Ports Association; Amadeus Capital Partners; Vodafone; Rio Tinto; BT; ARM; Tesco; and EY. These businesses were invited because they are from the most strategically important sectors of the UK economy, such as artificial intelligence, communications, and defence.

Future meetings of the Forum will take place quarterly, with each receiving a declassified economic security briefing from relevant experts. The record of discussions will remain confidential to encourage open communication between attendees.

During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister also chaired a discussion about the risks arising from artificial intelligence and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade facilitated a discussion about the government’s security regimes and businesses’ experience of current threats.

Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, said:

Economic security is a critical part of the UK’s overall national security – aligned to our ability to compete globally.

We need to work with the private sector, sharing our understanding of potential risks to our economy and agreeing on what we need to do in partnership to secure our national advantage, ensuring the UK remains a safe and dynamic place to invest.

Today’s meeting, the first of its kind, brings together businesses from some of the most critical sectors of our economy for an intelligence briefing from one of the country’s most senior security officials.

The Forum is one of the ways we’re co-designing solutions to shared challenges with business, providing intelligence that will allow them to make informed decisions and encourage further cooperation on national security matters.

Business and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said:

The UK is one of the best places in the world to do business, which is why we’ve attracted £29.5 billion of investment at last month’s Global Investment Summit and are the number one destination in Europe for new investment projects.

This Forum is important for sharing intelligence-led advice with businesses, and we’ll continue to engage with industry to gather feedback as we work to protect UK firms from economic security threats.

Both the Forum and the National Protective Security Authority were originally announced in the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, which committed the government to work more closely with businesses to ensure the UK remains one of the most secure places in the world to invest. NPSA’s briefing to the Forum forms part of their ambition to reach many more organisations with user-friendly protective security information.

The Forum is just one of the ways the government has stepped up business engagement on economic security in recent months. In November, the Deputy Prime Minister met with business leaders at the AI Summit to build support for the Bletchley Declaration. Later in the month, the Deputy Prime Minister launched a Call for Evidence to consider ways to make the government’s investment screening powers more transparent and proportionate for businesses. This is due to close on 15th January 2024.

Earlier this year the Prime Minister and US president signed the Atlantic Declaration for a Twenty-First Century U.S.-UK Economic Partnership which will see our countries work together more closely than ever before across the full spectrum of our economic, technological, commercial and trade relations.

Alongside the Integrated Review Refresh, the government published the Critical Minerals Refresh to recognise the changing global landscape and set out a refreshed approach to delivering the Critical Minerals Strategy. Government is engaging with UK industry to mitigate vulnerabilities in their critical mineral supply chains.

The Department for Business and Trade published the UK’s first battery strategy, alongside the Advanced Manufacturing Plan. In it the government committed over £2 billion in new capital and R&D funding for the automotive sector and pledged to support the manufacturing and development of zero emission vehicles, their batteries and supply chain between 2025 and 2030.

The UK and its international partners have implemented the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy, prohibiting Russia’s access to the technology, expertise and revenues that it needs for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Department for Business and Trade has also announced the creation of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of UK’s trade sanctions.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About the NPSA:

NPSA was launched as part of the Integrated Review Refresh, to replace the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure but with a broader remit, reflecting the fact that the threats the UK faces today extend far beyond critical national infrastructure.

NPSA works with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to offer expert advice and guidance to help businesses build their resilience against national security threats.

NPSA and NCSC have issued joint guidance on Secure Innovation, launched earlier this year. Secure Innovation was developed in collaboration with industry and is focused on UK emerging technology start-ups and the venture capitalists who invest in them. It aims to give emerging technology companies the motivation and tools to deliver effective protective security, increasing their resilience to state threats and their competitive advantage when attracting funding or customers. Guidance is also available on areas like insider risk and safe procurement. The NPSA website has more information.

Businesses should make use of the Think Before You Link app to guard against suspicious approaches on professional networking sites, a technique used by foreign intelligence services to cultivate relationships and collect information.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 December 2023.

Lord Ahmad’s pre-recorded statement was delivered at the 10th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

Joint Statement on Transparency and the Inclusion of Civil Society in the Implementation Review Mechanism

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), as the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument, is a cornerstone of our international anti-corruption framework. We are calling on all States Parties, to build on the foundation of the Convention and energise our collective voice on the implementation of anti-corruption standards to enable citizens across the world to see the impact the UNCAC can have in their societies. We acknowledge that an effective Implementation Review Mechanism (IRM) is crucial to fulfilling our obligations under the Convention and we are committed to the proper functioning of the mechanism.

The States Parties represented in this statement commit to the following actions to make the IRM more effective and ask that other State Parties join these commitments.

We commit to:

• Publishing timelines for our country review and keeping country focal point details updated;
• Publishing the full peer-reviewed IRM country report;
• Publishing how civil society and non-state actors can engage in the review and follow up process.

States Parties may wish to deliver these actions through a number of different ways, such as sharing these documents on their United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) country profile and through domestic platforms, and for countries who are also members of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), including commitments to deliver these actions within their OGP Action Plans.

We also call upon States Parties to recognise that wider participation from national civil society in the UNCAC review process and promoting transparency in the UNCAC IRM are fundamental to fighting corruption. A report by the UNCAC Coalition in 2021/22 showed that despite the Convention’s emphasis on civil society participation through Article 13, the principle of inclusiveness has not been consistently applied in the review mechanism process.

We are collectively calling on States Parties to expand the role of civil society in the fight against corruption, including in line with the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Political Declaration that contains a commitment to promote the active participation of individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as civil society, non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations and the private sector, in the prevention of and the fight against corruption and to raise public awareness. Enhancing transparency benefits citizens and societies and is the foundation on which effective anti-corruption efforts are built. We believe it is a vital aspect of ensuring effective accountability regarding implementation of the Convention.

The IRM is an essential, truly invaluable tool in the fight against corruption and we see these commitments as crucial steps for enhancing transparency and ensuring that the review process can better identify how States Parties can improve their efforts to fight corruption.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 December 2023.

The UK and US have announced new sanctions on the leaders and financiers of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

• UK and US target leaders and financiers of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) with new sanctions in fresh clampdown on terror groups
• Coordinated sanctions aim to isolate Hamas through freezing assets and imposing travel bans
• Foreign Secretary has committed to disrupting acts of terror and ensuring “Hamas has no future in Gaza”.

The UK has sanctioned seven further individuals linked to Hamas, to counter the ongoing threat posed by the terror organisation, cut off its access to finances and impose fresh travel restrictions on individuals linked to the group to disrupt its operations.

Today’s move, coordinated with the United States, is the UK’s second round of targeted sanctions imposed on figures associated with Hamas since the October 7 attacks on Israel.

Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas’ co-founder, is among those targeted in today’s sanctions. Also targeted is Ali Baraka, Hamas’s Head of External Relations, who has publicly defended the October 7 attacks and sought to justify the taking of hostages.

Those being sanctioned today include a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a terror organisation which was also involved in the October 7 attacks.

The sanctions target key figures in the network that has financed Hamas, including individuals in Lebanon and Algeria. These stringent measures show that individuals linked to Hamas will not be able to escape accountability, even if they are operating from outside of Gaza.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said:

Hamas can have no future in Gaza. Today’s sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will continue to cut off their access to funding and isolate them further.

We will continue to work with partners to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.

Those now subject to UK travel bans and asset freezes include:

• Mahmoud Zahar – a Gaza-based Hamas leader and co-founder
• Ali Baraka – the Lebanon-based Head of External Relations for Hamas
• Maher Obeid – a political leader who has held senior positions in Hamas
• Akram al-Ajouri – the Syria-based Deputy Secretary General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Leader of the Al-Quds Brigades, PIJ’s military wing
• Khaled Chouman and Rida Ali Khamis – who have channelled funds to Hamas through their Lebanon-based currency exchanges
• Aiman Ahmad Al Duwaik – an Algeria-based financier for Hamas who has helped run the organisation’s overseas investment portfolio

The UK and the US stand united in their solidarity with Israel and its fight against Hamas, while being clear their actions must be in line with International Humanitarian Law. We continue to support efforts to prevent a regional escalation of the conflict and allow crucial humanitarian aid access to Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary recently visited the region, where he announced the UK would give a further £30m in humanitarian aid to the United Nations and other agencies on the ground. This will provide shelters, blankets, food and medicine to civilians in Gaza.

The UK has already sent 51 tonnes of lifesaving aid to the region and doubled its funding commitment to the Occupied Palestinian Territories this year.

Membership and expressing support for Hamas is an illegal act in the UK, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Dozens of countries, including the United Kingdom and United States, as well as the European Union, have designated it a terrorist group.

Today’s announcement follows sanctions put in place by the UK last month, which targeted Hamas’ political leader in Gaza, along with other top-ranking officials and financiers. Sanctions form part of a wider tranche of measures aimed at disrupting the group’s acts of terror, including the recently announced international taskforce set up to enable the UK and partners to share financial intelligence.

Further information:

• Hamas and PIJ themselves are already sanctioned by the UK, and are subject to an asset freeze and arms embargo.
• For further information on previous Hamas member sanctioned, please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-us-hit-hamas-leadership-with-targeted-sanctions

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 December 2023.

British Exports Minister, Lord Offord, is leading renewable energy companies to meet Chilean government and business officials.

British Exports Minister Lord Offord has landed in Santiago, Chile today, where he is leading a trade mission of British hydrogen and renewable energy companies to match them with business opportunities in the country.

The businesses will be introduced to key Chilean developers and prospective customers at a showcase event hosted in Santiago. The Minister will also be meeting with Chilean developers to better understand their needs and promote how British companies can meet these.

Lord Offord will meet with Chilean Minister for Energy Diego Pardow, and Minister for Economy Nicolás Grau, to discuss how Chile and the UK can work together to boost trade and support the transition to renewable energy sources.

Minister for Exports Malcolm Offord said:

With Chile’s ambition to boost its renewable energy infrastructure, and the UK’s expertise and capabilities in this field, there is a clear opportunity for both our countries to benefit and prosper.

Chile is one of our most important trading partners in Latin America and with our upcoming accession to CPTPP I want to see trade between us boosted even further.

The trade agreement with Chile was particularly important to the UK, being the first one signed in 2019. With the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) of which Chile is a member, this trading relationship will continue to grow with businesses in both countries being able to choose the most beneficial agreement to trade under.

Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Chile in the last year grew by over 13%, reaching £1.9bn. The UK government aims to continue to grow this trading partnership, particularly by supporting Chile to harness its potential in renewables, including low carbon hydrogen, with the world leading expertise from UK companies.

CPTPP will cut tariffs for goods exporters and provide new opportunities and improved access for services industries, enhancing the bilateral relationship in key sectors such as energy and infrastructure services.

Chile is a key player in the global race to decarbonise, holding huge reserves of copper and lithium, as well as leading the region in renewable energy development. That’s why so many UK companies are eager to do business in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Patricio Maguire, Director of Turner and Townsend Chile said:

Chile and UK share a long history of cooperation. Green hydrogen and carbon capture industries are another examples of new areas of integration. While Chile has a vast stock of clean energy resources and a mature industrial environment, UK is a leading actor in the decarbonisation industry and, in particular, offers top notch technologies in electrolysis for H2 production.

As the local branch of a global UK-based consultancy firm, we, at Turner & Townsend are proud to be part of the energy transition industry and look forward to continue to provide our expertise and global footprint at the service of their actors.

Tom Wills, Development Director at Voar Energy said:

We are delighted to be participating in this UK trade mission at such an important moment in Chile’s energy transition.

Chile is set to be a world leader in green hydrogen and at Voar we’re keen to develop relationships with others active in that area, with a particular focus on Power-to-X projects in remote locations and green bunkering / fuel systems for ships.

Agustin Lopez Munell, CEO of Desitec who are moving their HQ from Argentina to the UK said:

We are honoured to join the Renewable Energy Trade Mission to Chile. This mission perfectly aligns with our goals to expand our innovative sensor technology into new markets as we transition our headquarters from Argentina to UK, specifically London or Edinburgh. Our goal is to continue educating ourselves about hydrogen and to seek partners with whom we can collaborate on our developments.

Notes to editors

The full list of companies joining the trade mission and the regions they are based in are:

• Turner & Townsend – Yorkshire and Humber
• 17 Energy – London
• Carbon Trust – London
• Desitec – moving their HQ from Argentina to London
• Hive Energy – South East
• ITM Power – Yorkshire and Humber
• UKSOL – South East
• Wood – South East
• Voar Energy – Scotland
• JCB – West Midlands
• Ricardo – South East

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 December 2023.

Statement by UK Legal Adviser Chanaka Wickremasinghe at the UN Security Council meeting on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

Thank you Mr President.

I’d like to start by thanking President Gatti Santana and Prosecutor Brammertz for their briefings today and for the latest Report of the Mechanism.

I’d also like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the Ambassador of Gabon and his team for their leadership of the Council’s informal working group on tribunals.

Mr President, today I want to make three points.

First, the Mechanism’s work has continued effectively and efficiently over the past six months. Most recently, this has included the confirmation of the death of the fugitive, Mr. Aloys Ndimbati. We commend the Office of the Prosecutor for its work and echo the report’s call for continued cooperation between all states to secure the arrests of the remaining two Rwandan fugitives as soon as possible.

My second point is that the Mechanism’s work remains critical. In the Western Balkans, we’ve seen heightened ethno-national tensions, and concerning use of hate speech by some political figures. Such language entrenches division and holds back countries from providing safe, inclusive, and prosperous environments for their citizens.

The Court has played an essential role in delivering justice for all, which has in turn, has promoted peace and reconciliation. We therefore welcome progress in the mechanism’s discussions with the government of Croatia on the establishment in Zagreb of an information center on the ICTY. Such centers can promote knowledge and understanding of history which is important in challenging the denial of atrocity crimes.

Further, the mechanism’s ongoing work with the government of Rwanda remains essential as Rwanda looks to commemorate 30 years since the genocide against the Tutsi in April next year. Given the Mechanism’s critical role, the UK is proud to demonstrate its support through enforcing sentences and in doing so it takes seriously its duty of care to detainees under the supervision of the Mechanism.

My third point is there remain several abstanding issues which impact the Mechanism’s ability to deliver its mandate and which must be addressed. In particular, we are disappointed by reports of some states blocking cooperation in the Western Balkans. We call on Serbia to fulfill its obligation to arrest and transfer Petar Jojić and Vjerica Radeta to the Mechanism following years of requests.

The UK is also concerned by the situation of the Rwandan individuals relocated to Niger who have been rendered stateless since 2022 and remain under house arrest. We would welcome further updates on efforts to find a durable solution regarding these individuals.

Mr President, to conclude, the Mechanism has much important and sensitive work to do, ensuring sentences are properly enforced, its legacy is preserved, and national prosecutions are supported. We see that the Mechanism is well placed to deliver on these ongoing functions, and that it is taking seriously the need to do so in a streamlined way. We look forward to reviewing the Mechanism’s mandate over the coming months.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 December 2023.

The fifth meeting of the Specialised Committee, co-chaired by the European Commission and the UK government, discussed issues relating to the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus.

Joint statement by UK government and European Commission:

The fifth meeting of the Specialised Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol relating to the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus was held on 12 December 2023, co-chaired by officials from the European Commission and the UK Government.

The Committee was established by the Withdrawal Agreement to facilitate the implementation and application of the Protocol.

The EU and the UK reviewed the operational phase of the implementation of the Protocol since its last meeting in July 2022.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the smooth implementation of the Protocol and confirmed the need to finalise technical discussions with the objective of reaching a common understanding on the correct implementation of the Protocol in the area of fisheries (Article 6 of the Protocol) and taxation (Article 3 of the Protocol).

The co-chairs confirmed that the technical discussions should include legal experts from both sides and be completed promptly.  The Specialised Committee will revert to this issue immediately afterwards.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 December 2023.

The British High Commission, Accra has presented 8 ambulances to the Ghana Armed Forces to improve medical outreach in the Northern border regions.

The official handover ceremony which took place on Friday, 12 December at the Burma Camp in Accra is a testament of the strong security and defence ties that the UK and Ghana share.

The event brought together:

• the UK Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Rt. Hon. James Heappey
• the Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Seth Amoama from the Ghana Armed Forces
• British High Commissioner, H.E. Harriet Thompson
• representatives from the UK government
• representatives from the Ghana Armed Forces

Together, they demonstrated a collaborative effort to bolster peace and security in the Northern regions.

Ghana, like her neighbours, appreciates the importance of civilian cooperation in the Northern regions as the Armed Forces work alongside non-governmental organisations in the fight to prevent and limit violent extremist organisations. The ambulances provided are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to aid the Ghana Armed Forces in their medical outreaches in the 5 Northern regions, as part of the UK-Ghana Civilian Military Cooperation Programme.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the UK Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Rt. Hon. James Heappey said:

Ghana is a key partner for the UK. We work together to tackle shared challenges from violent extremism in the Sahel to maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and this donation underscores the strong partnership between the UK and Ghana.

We are proud to contribute to Ghana Armed Force’s capacity to protect and serve its civilians in the 5 Northern regions to counter violent extremism, and we will continue to foster long-lasting partnerships through our annual security dialogue.

The ambulances will be distributed in the Wa, Bolgatanga, Sandema Mechanical Brigade Headquarters and the Armoured Regimental Headquarters in Damango respectively.

The UK continues to work closely with the Ghana Armed Forces to support Ghana’s leadership position in the sub-region and to strengthen the capability of Ghanaian security services to take the lead in responding to instability in the region, particularly those related to that of violent extremists emanating from the Sahel.

Further information

About The Rt. Hon. James Heappey

The Rt. Hon James Heappey is the UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces. Prior to his appointment, he previously served as the Minister for Defence Procurement and a former Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.

About the UK-Ghana Security Dialogue

The UK-Ghana Security Dialogue is one of the many platforms which exhibits the UK and Ghana’s longstanding relationship, particularly in defence and security. The relationship is underpinned by shared principles of democratic governance and respect for international humanitarian and human rights law as well as mutual concerns about regional instability and a desire to support regional and international peace and security.

The governments of both countries affirm their commitment to the partnership in the face of complex and evolving regional and global threats including terrorism, conflict, human trafficking, serious and organised crimes, drug trafficking, cyber-crime and piracy, and recognising the prominent role Ghana plays in countering these threats.

Through these annual dialogues, the UK and Ghana agree to enhance strong existing cooperation in the following areas:

• defence cooperation and maritime security
• serious and organised crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking and border security
• countering terrorism and violent extremism

They also seek to promote:

• civil-military cooperation
• human security led approaches to mitigating risks of instability
• combatting mis- and disinformation
• effective use of intelligence
• regional cooperation to address transnational security threats

About the Civilian Military Cooperation Programme (CIMIC)

The system of interaction involving exchange on information, negotiation, de-confliction, mutual support and planning at all levels between military elements and humanitarian organisations, development organisations or the local civilian population to achieve respective objectives.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 December 2023.

On the 23-year anniversary of the Algiers Agreement, the FCDO gave a statement to reiterate its support.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said:

Twenty-three years ago today, Ethiopia and Eritrea, with the support of the international community, concluded the Algiers Agreement to establish peace and demarcate a common border. In 2018, in a historic peace agreement, both countries recommitted to respect the border as established by the Algiers Agreement and its subsequent Boundary Commission.

On this anniversary it is more important than ever that the sovereignty and territorial integrity as defined by these agreements is respected. The UK reiterates our full support for the Algiers Agreement and the border as established by its subsequent Boundary Commission, and remains committed to working with all Horn of Africa countries toward the shared goal of a peaceful and prosperous region.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 December 2023.

Statement by UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.