Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 March 2023.

UK Human Rights Ambassador Rita French delivered a statement on the situation of human rights in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Thank you, Mr President,

I would like to start by welcoming the Special Rapporteur’s critical work in continuing to report on the DPRK’s human rights record. We remain deeply alarmed by the systematic and widespread human rights violations by the DPRK regime.

Instead of upholding its human rights obligations and meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in society, the DPRK continues to prioritise its illegal weapons programme. Moreover, the DPRK’s border restrictions in response to COVID continue to severely hamper UN agencies’ ability to access and deliver life-saving support to the people of North Korea.

The UK urges the DPRK to now engage credibly with the international community and allow UN human rights mechanisms unhindered access. We stand ready to engage and assist the DPRK on human rights issues.

Madam Special Rapporteur,

How do the prolonged COVID-related measures introduced by the regime continue to impact human rights in North Korea?

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 March 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council briefing on North Korea.

Thank you, President. I also thank ASG Jencča for his briefing today, and welcome the participation of the Republic of Korea.

The UK condemns the launch by the DPRK of a further intercontinental ballistic missile on 16 March. This was the DPRK’s tenth ICBM launch since the start of 2022.

Make no mistake. This missile wasn’t designed, built, deployed and launched overnight. The DPRK first displayed this type in 2020. It has been tested multiple times since in a long-planned development process, in defiance of this Council’s decisions, and shielded by two of its members.

Those same members may seek to equate lawful defensive military exercises with the DPRK’s actions. Let’s be clear. Defensive exercises are safe when they are notified to other states in advance, and when they operate within defined areas, as South Korean and US exercises have done.

We should protect the credibility of this Council by challenging these violations with a firm and united response. Five years of inaction, forced on the Council by two members, have left no one safer. Now is the time for a comprehensive resolution that addresses international security concerns with new targeted measures, while also setting conditions for renewed dialogue, and facilitating aid.

We should recall that the cost of these illicit launches is being borne by the North Korean people, whose government diverts resources from peoples’ basic economic needs toward its illegal weapons programme. We call on the DPRK to allow UN international staff to enter the country. Sanctions exemptions are in place to support expedited humanitarian assistance.

We again call on all member states to fully implement existing Resolutions, which all Council members voted for multiple times, to counter the continued development of the DPRK’s prohibited programmes.

Finally, President, we call on the DPRK to cease these launches and engage meaningfully with offers from the United States and the Republic of Korea of dialogue. Diplomacy is the only route to sustained peace on the peninsula.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 March 2023.

UK Human Rights Ambassador Rita French delivered her statement on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Special Rapporteur – thank you for your continued work and recent report.

As you set out, the Government of Iran is culpable of egregious continued human rights violations. The use of the death penalty, restrictions on media and the internet, and on freedoms of speech, expression, religion and belief, all continue unabated.

The discrimination women and girls have persistently faced, came to the fore with the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini in September. Over 500 people were killed during the regime’s brutal crackdown demonstrating Iran’s disregard for human life. This was on top of the over 500 persons executed, including at least two juvenile offenders in 2022. Religious and minority ethnic groups continued to face appalling discrimination, especially Baha’i, Christian converts and Sunni groups. The continuing detention of former Baha’i leaders, home demolition and land expropriation of Baha’is is deplorable. It is also deeply concerning that Iran has escalated its abhorrent practice of detaining foreign nationals for political leverage.

Iran must be held to account for its egregious human rights violations.

Special Rapporteur,

In light of your findings on possible crimes against humanity, how can the international community unite to ensure perpetrators are held to account?

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 March 2023.

The UK has sanctioned five members of the Board of Directors of the IRGC Co-operative Foundation, the organisation which funnels money into the regime’s repression.

• UK sanctions financiers within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and senior commanders.
• Those sanctioned include five members on the Board of Directors of the IRGC Co-operative Foundation, the body responsible for managing the IRGC’s investments.
• Two senior IRGC commanders operating in Tehran and Alborz provinces also sanctioned for gross human rights violations.

The UK has imposed sanctions on senior officials of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, it announced today.

The IRGC, the branch of the Iranian Armed Forces responsible for the internal and external security of Iran, has been at the forefront of the repression of protest in Iran which has seen more than 500 killed and tens of thousands imprisoned.

The UK has sanctions in place on the IRGC in its entirety. Since October, the UK has imposed new sanctions on more than a dozen senior IRGC officials under our Iran human rights regime, most recently on a number of senior commanders on 20 February.

As a result the UK has sanctioned five members of the Board of Directors of the IRGC Co-operative Foundation, an economic conglomerate established by senior IRGC officials to manage the group’s investments in the Iranian economy.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

Today we are taking action on the senior leaders within the IRGC who are responsible for funnelling money into the regime’s brutal repression.

Together with our partners around the world, we will continue to stand with the Iranian people as they call for fundamental change in Iran.

Established initially to support IRGC service members, the Foundation has broadened out its remit to funding the IRGC’s repressive activities in Iran and abroad.

The Foundation is also responsible for funding militant groups associated with the IRGC’s external operations arm, the IRGC-Quds Force. The Quds force is responsible for carrying out lethal activities outside of Iran by, for example, providing training, funding and weapons to groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. It has been accused of setting up fake companies in Syria to support the development of Quds Force activities in Syria.

The UK also imposed sanctions on further IRGC provincial commanders for their roles in overseeing human right violations against protestors. Today’s designations include Ahmed Zulqadr, Commander of the IRGC Seyyed al-Shohada provincial corps in Tehran province and Deputy Commander of IRGC corps in Tehran City, and Alireza Heydarnia, Commander of the IRGC for the Alborz Province.

These sanctions constitute an asset freeze and UK travel ban on the individuals concerned and send a wider signal on the UK’s commitment to backing condemnation with action.

Further information:

The full list of those sanctioned today is as follows:

• Ali Asghar Nourouzi, Chairman of the Board of Directors the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Cooperative Foundation.
• Seyyed Aminollah Emami Tabatabai, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Cooperative Foundation.
• Yahya Ala’Oddini, Director of the Board of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Cooperative Foundation.
• Jamal Babamoradi, Director of the Board of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Cooperative Foundation.
• Ahmad Karimi, Director of the Board of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Cooperative Foundation.
• Ahmed Zulqadr, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Seyyed al-Shohada Provincial Corps in Tehran Province and the Deputy Commander of IRGC Corps in Tehran City
• Alireza Heydarnia, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the Alborz Province.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 March 2023.

The UK’s Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Simon Manley, delivered this statement on Myanmar at the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Thank you Mr President,

Special Rapporteur,

Thank you for your sobering update and passionate commitment.

It has been over two years since the military seized power in a coup, plunging Myanmar into crisis.

Myanmar’s people have shown extraordinary resilience in the face of unspeakable atrocities, demonstrating their commitment to democracy and human rights. We continue to stand with them. They are indeed not forgotten, they are not alone.

Across Myanmar, the junta is committing brutal human rights violations and abuses including against Rohingya and other minorities. Thousands of civilians, including children, jailed, tortured and killed. Gender and sexual-based violence rife. Civic space virtually non-existent. Over 17 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and nearly 2 million people displaced.

Since the coup, the UK has provided over £100 million to support those in need. We must collectively ensure that all responders on the front line are supported and that we innovate to channel resources for the humanitarian response.

Special Rapporteur,

How can the international community ensure access to displaced population inside and outside Myanmar?

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 16 March 2023.

On the launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile by North Korea.

We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest terms North Korea’s March 16 launch of yet another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which undermines regional and international peace and security.

Since last year, North Korea has intensified its escalatory actions through a record number of ballistic missile launches and its continued irresponsible and destabilizing rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons. Earlier this year, North Korea publicly stated its intent to further expand and enhance its unlawful nuclear and missile programs.

We reiterate our demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and fully comply with all obligations under the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We urge North Korea to engage in meaningful diplomacy toward denuclearization and accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea.

We deeply regret to see the stark contrast between the frequency of North Korea’s repeated blatant violations of UNSCRs and the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) corresponding inaction because of some members’ obstruction. North Korea’s reckless behavior demands a swift and unified response by the international community, including further significant measures by the UNSC. We call on all UN Member States to fully and effectively implement all UNSCRs, and for the UNSC Members to follow through on their commitments.

The G7 remains concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in North Korea and is committed to working with all relevant partners toward the goal of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to upholding the rules-based international order.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 19 March 2023.

The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, launches a new programme to support 60,000 children to access education in the Kasai province in the DRC.

• New UK programme to increase girls’ access to education in Kasai, one of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) most deprived provinces.
• Following launch of UK’s new Women and Girls Strategy to tackle increasing threats to gender equality, support will reach 60,000 children in the region, 60% of whom will be girls.
• The Accès et Égalité pour l’Éducation des Filles (AXE-Filles) Programme will improve access to and the quality of education, tackling barriers to girls continuing in school, such as sexual and gender-based violence.

The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell has today (Sunday 19 March) launched a new programme to support 60,000 children, mainly girls, to access education in the Kasai province in the DRC.

Kasai is one of the most deprived regions in the DRC, where both attendance in school and literacy rates for children are low.

Up to £28 million of UK funding will go to the new programme, Accès et Égalité pour l’Éducation des Filles (AXE-Filles), to improve school facilities and provide a better quality of learning for Congolese children, including marginalised girls.

This builds on previous UK education programmes which have helped approximately four million children access schooling across the DRC, and have supported the Congolese government’s efforts to roll out free education and improve quality.

The UK is committed to tackling gender inequality around the world and helping girls get a quality education, a priority reaffirmed by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Sierra Leone last week where he launched the UK’s new global Women and Girls Strategy. The strategy puts a continued focus on educating girls, empowering women and girls, championing their health and rights and ending gender-based violence – the challenges the UK believes are most acute.

AXE-Filles will work with schools, provincial government, and communities to provide education on sexual health and reproductive rights, tackle sexual and gender-based violence at school, and provide scholarships to help girls attend and remain in secondary school.

The Minister for Development and Africa, The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP said:

The launch of our new education programme is vital for ensuring that Congolese children who need it the most get the access to education they deserve. By transforming the way they learn, we can boost the quality of teaching, improve school attendance and outcomes, and empower girls.

We work closely with DRC on common challenges, including the fight against climate change. From strengthening democratic processes, to UK-supported hospitals saving lives in North Kivu, we are collaborating to improve the lives of Congolese people, supporting sustainable development, empowering women and girls and working towards regional peace.

During his three-day visit to the country, Minister Mitchell will also discuss steps towards ending the violence in the east of the country.

In Kinshasa, he will meet President Felix Tshisekedi and Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula to discuss the ongoing work to strengthen the UK-DRC partnership.

Alongside development and humanitarian support, the UK is also keen to work with DRC to improve the business environment and help deliver economic prosperity. The UK has invited the DRC to the UK-African Investment Summit, to be held in London in April 2024, aiming to grow two-way trade and investment.

He will also visit North Kivu to listen to a range of voices on finding a peaceful solution to the violence in the east of the country, and see first-hand how UK humanitarian support is saving lives and reducing suffering of the most vulnerable who have been displaced by ongoing conflict.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 March 2023.

UK sends aid support to help save lives in aftermath of Cyclone Freddy.

• UK sends search and rescue team of 27 and medical team of six to help the Government of Malawi save lives in the aftermath of the Cyclone Freddy
• Support will also provide shelter and water to thousands of people hit by flooding
• British teams will work with the Malawi authorities to provide help where most needed

The UK is providing urgently needed crisis expertise and humanitarian supplies to Malawi following the devastation caused by Cyclone Freddy.

Our support will provide emergency shelter to approximately 3,600 people and allow up to 12,750 people affected by the floods to access safe drinking water, protecting them from disease.

UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell MP said:

We have been working since this horrendous cyclone hit to support the emergency response in Malawi and provide life-saving assistance to those who need it most.

Working alongside the Malawians, our search and rescue and medical teams are playing a critical role in helping ensure those who have lost their homes in the floods receive much required expert assistance and that we prevent a wider outbreak of cholera.

The initial UK package of assistance, which arrived in Malawi today, comprises: 27 members of the UK’s International Search and Rescue Team (ISAR); and six from the UK Emergency Medical Team (EMT); specialist boats; and urgently needed emergency relief items. The flight with our support left Birmingham airport this morning.

This is in addition to the immediate help the UK provided to the Malawian Government, when the cyclone hit last week, to help launch emergency operations. This builds on the UK’s longstanding partnership with Malawi, working together on crisis preparedness and resilience. For example, the UK has supported Malawi tackle cholera and Covid-19.

Over 300 people have died in the tragic event which has also left nearly 20,000 people without homes.

The UK ISAR team will support Malawian authorities in the search for survivors of the floods, assisted by their specialist equipment which includes lightweight, nimble boats and a drone team. These boats will be gifted to the Malawi Government for future emergency use when the UK ISAR team departs.

The Emergency Medical Team will support hospitals in southern Malawi to treat victims of Cyclone Freddy and save lives. Their support builds on the existing cholera-focussed UK EMT who have been in Malawi since January 2023, and are helping to reduce the risk of the on-going cholera outbreak.

The UK government remains in close contact with the authorities in the area and is ready to assist any British nationals affected.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 March 2023.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will visit Astana on 18 March 2023, where he will meet President Tokayev, the Prime Minister and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

On Saturday 18 March 2023, UK Foreign Secretary, The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, will visit Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

During his first bilateral visit to Kazakhstan, the Foreign Secretary will meet with His Excellency President Tokayev, the Prime Minister and other ministers. He will discuss ways to strengthen the UK-Kazakhstan strategic partnership, built over the last 31 years across many sectors including trade and investment, education, security and peacekeeping, finance and law.

The Foreign Secretary will also meet with representatives of business, civil society and higher education as well as Bolashak and Chevening alumni.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 17 March 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

Thank you, President.

As we have heard today, over 21 million people now need humanitarian assistance as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion: this is over 50% of Ukraine’s pre-war population.

Of these people, over 5 million are displaced internally, and another 8 million have fled to Europe as refugees. This is the most significant displacement seen anywhere in the world for decades.

In areas under Russian control, approximately 4 million people are in acute need of humanitarian protection and assistance.

These figures demonstrate the devastating impact of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. But we must not forget that behind every single number in these millions is a person, a brother or a sister, a mother or a father, whose normal life has been obliterated by Russia’s aggression.

Mr President, I want to focus on the situation in Bakhmut. The city has been subject to near constant shelling, with civilian infrastructure, such as schools, water and energy and health facilities taking significant damage. There are not many buildings left standing and the humanitarian consequences of Russia’s brutal assault are extreme.

Humanitarian assistance into the city stopped mid-February when the fighting intensified and it became too dangerous for most aid to get in. Nearly 4,000 civilians remain, hiding in basements. These people are severely vulnerable – in particular children, persons with disabilities and the elderly.

Only a limited number of local volunteer groups have been able to distribute assistance, at great risk to their personal safety.

We therefore call for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to the people of Ukraine, including in Bakhmut. Russia must stop denying access and must cease its attacks on critical infrastructure and residential areas. Ukrainians must be allowed to seek safety wherever they choose.

President, as USG Griffiths made clear, the impact of Russia’s actions are still being felt around the world. Commodity prices are up and 345 million people face crisis levels of food insecurity with close to 50 million people one step away from famine. This is the global cost of Russia’s actions.

The UK strongly supports the efforts of the UN in partnership with Türkiye to continue bringing Ukrainian grain to the world markets.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative is vital – the world needs Ukrainian grain.

Everything should be done to tackle global food insecurity and ensure food assistance reaches those that need it most. We call on Russia to respect the terms of the deal and the latest 120 day extension.

Finally, President, the UK is fully committed to holding Russia to account for its illegal actions in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court’s announcement today is an important step for ensuring those responsible are held accountable.

Barbaric atrocities have been committed during this conflict, including against children. It is right that these should be independently investigated, and those accountable face justice.

Thank you.