Tag: Foreign Office

I would like to welcome Ambassador Davenport back to the Permanent Council. Thank you to you and your team for this comprehensive report, which provides a helpful summary of developments and activities over the reporting period.

The United Kingdom commends the work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, its close engagement with government institutions, municipalities, and civil society, and its delivery of important initiatives across the three core pillars of its mandate.

The UK highly appreciates the Mission’s important work during this reporting period on monitoring and early warning functions, amid the tense security situation in the north of Kosovo in recent months. The UK supports the assessment in the Report that the participation of Kosovo Serbs in the judiciary, police and municipal institutions in the north of Kosovo is essential to restoring confidence and stabilising the security situation. We also encourage the unconditional participation of Kosovo Serbs in any new municipal elections that take place in the north of Kosovo.

We welcome the Mission’s continued engagement and support on electoral legal reform during the reporting period – including through technical support to the adoption of the Law on General Elections on 8 June, and your work with the Central Election Commission on refining secondary legislation in line with the new law. We welcome the Mission’s continued close engagement with municipal administrations – in particular through capacity-building to municipalities on communications, to promote transparency and gender inclusivity.

The UK values the Mission’s continued support to government institutions on human rights and inter-community relations, including on community safety, and facilitating dialogue among communities on freedom of religion or belief. We also particularly welcome the Mission’s continued work to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation in support of tackling domestic and gender-based violence.

Mr Chair, the UK has been following the recent developments in the north of Kosovo with serious concern. We strongly condemn the violent attack on Kosovo Police on 24 September by a group of heavily armed and organised assailants. The level of resourcing and organisation of this attack, including the discovery of significant heavy weaponry and ammunition, represented a marked escalation. It is important that Serbia co-operates fully with the investigations by Kosovo’s institutions in coordination with EULEX, to establish the full facts, identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

The UK continues to urge Serbia and Kosovo to avoid unilateral actions, and to take immediate steps to reduce tensions, including refraining from inflammatory rhetoric. Dialogue is vital to de-escalation, finding solutions, and protecting the gains of the last decade. We expect Kosovo and Serbia to re-engage in the EU-facilitated Dialogue, honour their commitments, and avoid actions or rhetoric that could reduce prospects for a comprehensive and sustainable normalisation agreement. In line with the Brussels and Ohrid agreements, we urge both parties to engage constructively – including on the establishment of an Association of Serb Majority Municipalities – as soon as possible.

Mr Chair, the United Kingdom remains a long-standing and strong supporter of Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state. We remain committed to supporting an inclusive, diverse and multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo, and its full participation in the international system. We value and appreciate the Mission’s continued engagement and commitment to its work to strengthen Kosovo’s institutions.

In conclusion, I would like to thank you, Ambassador Davenport, for your leadership of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo during this reporting period. I also thank your team for their continued expertise, engagement and hard work under pressure and uncertainty – it really is much appreciated.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

At yesterday’s Forum for Security Cooperation, Russia condemned the ‘indiscriminate’ attacks by others on civilian targets. Mr Chair, I would like to remind this Council that Russia is yet to answer for their indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia has resisted accountability.

There have been reports overnight of deaths in Zaporizhzhia following Russian missile strikes. Russia is also still to answer for the recent missile strike on the village of Hroza. On 5 October, as families gathered in the north-eastern Kharkiv region to mourn and pay respects to a fallen Ukrainian soldier, the funeral wake turned to bloodshed. What should have been a day of mourning and closure, ended with the deceased person’s entire immediate family also dead.

One in five of the people of Hroza were killed that day. This attack was unprovoked and premeditated and our thoughts are with the victims’ families and loved ones. As made clear during the Special Permanent Council, the UK is appalled by Russia’s barbaric killing of civilians, including children.

According to the UN, there have been 10,000 civilian deaths and tens of thousands of casualties since Russia mounted its full-scale invasion last year. Russia’s actions are an egregious violation of international law including the UN Charter.

The UK and our partners will continue to gather in this room and stand united in condemning these brutal attacks. The UK and the international community will continue to rally around Ukraine. We will not stop until Ukraine wins.

I would like to thank our Chair in Office for hosting the 2023 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference against attempts to block it from happening.

As Europe’s largest annual human rights Conference, this is yet another strong signal of the OSCE’s commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms in the OSCE region. Events like this exemplify the work of the OSCE.

We saw 1,500 participants from civil society, government and academia gather. As ever, we were struck by the bravery of individuals who came to Warsaw to share their stories and to fight to protect fundamental human rights. The UK wants to assure these individuals that we will not forget them, and we will do our best to protect them.

Over the course of ten days, we heard first-hand of Russia’s human rights violations against Russia’s own people and through its illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Conference highlighted Russia’s absence and isolation. It also coincided with the thirty-sixth report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report paints a stark picture of the price that Ukrainians are paying for Russia’s war. It details widespread torture, mock executions, and sexual violence.

Mr Chair, for as long as Russia steps on and disregards human rights, the UK and our international partners will continue to hold them to account.

Thank you.

Thank you, President, I thank SRSG Laing and SRCC Souef for their briefings this morning, and for the continued work of their teams and troops in really challenging circumstances. I also welcome the participation of the Permanent Representative of Somalia Ambassador Osman in this meeting.

Let me begin by reiterating the UK’s full support and solidarity with Somalia in the fight against al-Shabaab.

President, we are approaching a crunch point in the security transition. 2024 will see the transition from ATMIS to Somali-led security continue. It comes as Somalia continues its ongoing offensive operations against Al-Shabaab. This Council and the UN should continue to work closely with Somalia and the African Union to ensure both objectives are balanced and both are successful. Member States need to support ATMIS and Somalia financially. Since 2022 the UK has contributed over $57 million to ATMIS and over $12 million to the Somalia Trust Fund. We urge other Member States to scale up support.

The UK welcomes the positive collaboration between the Government and ATMIS on the recent, Joint Technical Assessment. By working together, the African Union and the Government of Somalia, with the support of the UN and partners can ensure that the security transition is successful. AMISOM [African Union Mission to Somalia] and ATMIS have made huge sacrifices in enabling Somalia to get to where it is today – we fully support you as you seek to finish the job.

The UK also welcomes the Government’s commitment to establishing inclusive political processes. Progress on this agenda, including clarity on the Electoral Model and the constitutional review, will underpin medium to long-term stability in Somalia.

Indeed, progress with state-building and peace-building is also essential to ensure sustained progress in the fight against Al-Shabaab as it will consolidate the military gains. Our top priority in Somalia is to support the Government to take forward state-building and political reform objectives while it continues to address security threats.

President, let me conclude by commending Somalia on its progress through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Thanks to Somalia’s hard work, the country is on track to benefit from debt relief, including from the UK. After debt relief, Somalia has the opportunity to continue to increase revenue collection, strengthen fiscal management, and limit the space for corruption.

Taken together: security successes, accompanied by progress on political and economic reforms should be a cause for cautious optimism.

Thank you.

Thank you President, and I would like to start by thanking Under-Secretary Griffiths and Special Coordinator Wennesland for their sobering briefings, and through you may I also thank your teams who are working tirelessly in the region including in the face of considerable personal risk. And again, we extend our condolences to those who have lost their lives.

President, the UK is shocked and deeply saddened by the destruction and the hundreds of lives that were lost and people who were killed at the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza yesterday evening. This is a devastating loss of life, and our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted.

The UK is working intensively to establish the facts. But fundamentally, hospitals are protected under international law and should not be targeted.

President, as I have said, Israel has the right, under the UN Charter, to defend itself against Hamas’ appalling terror attacks. We have also emphasised that every feasible precaution must be taken to minimise harm to civilians, and we continue to call for immediate unimpeded humanitarian access to enable essential aid, water, food and medicines to reach civilians.

Israel has itself acknowledged that it must act in accordance with international humanitarian law.

President, the UK is clear that Hamas does not speak for the Palestinian people. Humanitarian support and access must be maintained into Gaza. To support that effort we have announced a further £10m in UK humanitarian support.

And we call for the opening of the Rafah crossing and guarantees of security for any foreign nationals wishing to cross, as well as for vital humanitarian aid entering.

President, we are also clear that we must avoid further escalation of any conflict in the region.That is why the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have been working urgently to engage Israeli, Palestinian and regional leaders.

President, the UK will continue to work with partners in the international community to break the cycle of violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and work towards the peace and security of Israelis and Palestinians.

Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Chair,

I have the honour of delivering this cross-regional joint statement on behalf of the following 51 countries: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Eswatini, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, Netherlands, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Marshall Islands, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United States, and my own country, the United Kingdom.

Members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang continue to suffer serious violations of their human rights by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) relied extensively on China’s own records when it published its Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

This independent and authoritative assessment found evidence of large-scale arbitrary detention and systematic use of invasive surveillance on the basis of religion and ethnicity; severe and undue restrictions to legitimate cultural and religious practices, identity and expression, including reports of destruction of religious sites; torture, ill-treatment and sexual and gender-based violence, including forced abortion and sterilisation; enforced disappearances and family separations; and forced labour.

The assessment concluded that the arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities on a large scale in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

Over a year has passed since that assessment was released and yet China has not engaged in any constructive discussion of these findings.

Last month, at the 54th Session of the Human Rights Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on China to follow the recommendations of the assessment and take “strong remedial action.”

So far, we have not seen evidence of China taking any such action.

We urge China to end its violations of human rights in Xinjiang, engage constructively with the OHCHR, and fully implement the recommendations of the assessment.

Thank you.

Thank you President.

And let me thank you for your good faith efforts to negotiate this resolution.

The draft resolution on which we have just voted rightly condemns the appalling Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on the 7th October. It also makes clear that all actions need to be taken in line with international humanitarian law. It stresses the importance of ensuring humanitarian access and protecting civilians, and emphasises this Council’s shared priority of preventing regional escalation of the conflict.

We welcome and support the draft resolution’s attempts to set out the Council’s view on these critical points.

But the draft resolution needed to be clearer on Israel’s inherent right to self-defence in line with the UN Charter after Hamas’ attacks killed over 1,400 people and took almost 200 people hostage.

The draft resolution also ignored the fact that Hamas are using innocent Palestinian civilians as human shields.

They have embedded themselves in civilian communities and made the Palestinian people their victims too.

For these reasons, the United Kingdom abstained on this resolution.

My Prime Minister has been clear that the UK stands with Israel in the face of these atrocities.

We support Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, take back the hostages, deter further incursions, and strengthen its security for the long term.

In so doing, we will continue to call on Israel to take all feasible precautions to avoid harming Palestinian civilians and to act in line with international humanitarian law.

We will continue to work closely with Israel and our partners in the region to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. To ensure that civilians are protected and have access to food, water, medicine, and shelter. And to work towards the peace and stability promised by the Two State Solution.

I thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. After the horrific acts of violence in Arras and Brussels, my thoughts are with the victims and their families. The UK stands with France, Belgium and Sweden in the fight against terrorism.

Last week we listened to the lengthy Russian statement, complete with slides, as the Russian delegation attempted to defend the indefensible. The Russian statement was indicative of a mind-set that led Russia to illegally invade another sovereign country in contravention of international law. This mind-set is based on a misguided assumption that might is right and Russia’s absolute willingness to distort reality to suit Russia’s own purposes.

In this Forum we are constantly witnesses to this misleading behaviour. Last week, the Russian representative informed the Forum that she needed to present a lengthy statement, despite being given direction on timings from you Madam Chair, because ‘Russia needed to balance the 40 minutes that other nations had spoken for’. If Russia feels the needs to provide balance on the issue of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, where are the other supporting voices? As Russia, has too slowly realised in recent weeks, Russia is alone in trying to defend the illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Now we know that the UN Charter, of which Russia is a signatory, is based on one member, one vote. So it is odd that Russia claims to be part of global majority. By way of clarification, I understand a majority to be ‘more than half of a group of people or things’. Yet, in UN General Assembly Resolution ES 11/1, deploring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demanding a full withdrawal of Russian forces, the resolution passed with 141 voting in favour, 5 against and 35 abstentions. If Russia was confused about the majority element of that vote, UN General Assembly Resolution ES 11/4, declaring the referendums held in the Temporarily Occupied Territories to be invalid and illegal, passed with 143 in favour, 5 against and 35 abstaining. And in the Forum for Security Cooperation, I will underscore, as Russia has openly acknowledged, it is defending itself from a minority of one. I would invite Russia to reconsider generally accepted concepts about what it means to be part of a majority.

Russia also claimed that ‘the logic of the West is simply of ultimatums’. As was eloquently explained last week by the distinguished representative for the United States, the only ultimatum that this Forum has witnessed are the unprecedented two times Russia prevented this Forum from adopting the agenda – and this prevented the Forum from executing its mandate.

Madam Chair, we see time and time again the contempt in which Russia holds this Forum. We have appealed in recent weeks for a return to mature diplomacy and yet we are subjected to more of the same banal, inaccurate and excruciatingly long diatribes. Meanwhile, Russia continues its disastrous campaign around the town of Avdiivka. Russia’s Ambassador to the UN stated last Friday that ‘the ramped-up attacks in the east amounted to a new stage in Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine’. Given the significant Russian losses in this failed effort, it is hard to see what is new about it unless it is the accelerated pace at which Russia expends its poorly-led forces.

Madam Chair, the majority of this Forum continues to recognise the threat posed by the Russian Federation. The United Kingdom will continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, militarily and financially. We are implementing our Ukraine Emergency Winter Preparedness plan (£127 million in aid for 2023/2024) with international partners. Last week, the British Defence Secretary announced a new package of support totalling £100 million to help Ukraine clear minefields and protect Critical National Infrastructure. The United Kingdom continues to work with Ukraine and other partners to support alternative routes to the BSGI for Ukrainian grain exports, increasing the capacity of exports to the rest of the world by overland routes, through Danube ports and Ukraine’s maritime corridor. The United Kingdom will continue to act in this manner until Russia no longer controls Ukraine’s sovereign territory for this is the only path, as recognised by a true majority, to a just and lasting peace. Thank you.