Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 October 2022.

The UK Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French, delivered a statement on the Myanmar regime’s access to weapons and arms.

Thank you, Mr President.

Thank you Acting High Commissioner for your report.

The United Kingdom supported the council’s Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar and its’ important work to shine a light on the military’s economic interests. We call on all States to engage with its recommendations, which remain all the more important amid today’s calamitous situation in the country.

We are committed to working with partners to target the regime’s access to finance and arms, which facilitate the most egregious human rights violations. These violations must stop.

The UK has a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and we are clear that no Member State should sell arms to Myanmar; doing so exasperates conflict and instability and directly contributes to violations in the country.

Since the coup, we have announced targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and its access to revenue, arms and military equipment.

While responsible businesses have a role to play in Myanmar in job creation, poverty alleviation and standard setting, we must ensure that their work does not inadvertently support the military regime. For this reason, the UK has also strengthened its advice to UK business, encouraging enhanced due diligence to avoid inadvertent support for the military.

Madam Acting High Commissioner,

What more can the international community to do to pressure those who sell arms to the military?

Thank you.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 October 2022.

The UK delivered a statement on the on-going human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Thank you, Madam Vice President,

The United Kingdom thanks the speakers for their presentations and we welcome the reports of the high commissioner, and the team of experts.

The UK remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the DRC. Recent violence by armed groups, especially the Allied Democratic Forces and M23, has led to human rights abuses, which jeopardises efforts to pursue peace and prosperity, and exacerbates the already severe humanitarian situation. All of this raises dire concerns about the protection of civilians in the conflict-affected regions.

We urge all actors to address the humanitarian impacts of the violence, ensuring the affected people, including the 5.9 million internally displaced civilians, receive the assistance they need. We welcome ongoing diplomatic efforts to pursue dialogue and de-escalation, and we reiterate our call on all armed groups to immediately cease violence and participate unconditionally in the political process.

We are deeply concerned about the recent violent protests against the UN peacekeeping mission, which resulted in the deaths of civilians and peacekeepers. We continue to offer our full support for MONUSCO’s vital work, and call on the government of DRC to help ensure the safety of MONUSCO’s personnel and hold all perpetrators of violations and abuses to account.

We will continue to support regional engagement to find a diplomatic solution to conflict in the east, and DRC’s efforts to launch a community-based Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-integration programme.

Madam Vice President,

Our question to the panel is how will the UN work with the East African Community to ensure the protection of civilians remains a priority, with any deployment of a regional force?

Thank you.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 October 2022.

The UK delivered a statement on for the Interactive Dialogue with the OHCHR regarding the providing of technical assistance amid ongoing human rights issues in the country.

Thank you Madam Vice President,

The United Kingdom thanks the Director for his presentation and the continued work of the Office of the High Commissioner in South Sudan.

The UK is deeply concerned by the continuing and dire human rights situation in South Sudan. This year, hundreds of civilians have been killed or been victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence at the hands of government and opposition forces. Horrific attacks in southern Unity State and ongoing violence in Upper Nile State are prime examples of this. There needs to be urgent action by the South Sudanese Government to protect civilians and hold perpetrators to account.

The UK commends the OHCHR and UNMISS for their continuing technical assistance, but it is clear that technical assistance alone will not lead to sustainable peace and justice without clear mechanisms for scrutiny and accountability. The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan therefore plays a vital role in helping to hold those responsible for human rights violations and abuses to account, including through their monitoring and reporting.

The UK acknowledges the Government of South Sudan’s extension of the 2018 peace agreement and accompanying Roadmap. We call on the South Sudanese Government to implement the peace agreement, including all of Chapter V, in full and to the timelines set by their new Roadmap.

Mr Director,

What prospects do you see for the establishment as soon as possible of the truth and justice mechanisms under Chapter V, including the Hybrid Court? How can this be most effectively supported?

Thank you.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 October 2022.

Justin Addison (UK delegation to the OSCE) says sustainable management of natural resources is essential to mitigate impacts of climate and biodiversity crises.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 October 2022.

Statement by Richard Croker, UK Ambassador to the General Assembly, at the Third Committee meeting on advancement of women.

Thank you Mr Chair,

Multiple and interconnected barriers are preventing women and girls from reaching their full potential. Where women and girls are unable to reach their potential, whole countries suffer. We know that when we challenge discrimination and progress gender equality, everybody benefits.

The UK is committed to protecting and promoting women and girls’ rights and freedoms at home and abroad so that they can have their voice, choice and control over all aspects of their lives.

Women’s rights are human rights, as enshrined by numerous conventions that the UK supports. Our ambition remains higher than ever, and we cannot be complacent when reviewing our progress.

That is why we have committed to placing women and girls at the heart of our foreign and development policy, prioritising action on 3 areas: Educating girls; Empowering women and girls; and Ending violence.

We know that achieving gender equality is fundamental to building democracies and accelerating progress on securing freedoms, prosperity and trade, as well as strengthening global security and resilience. Women’s knowledge and leadership strengthens decision-making, driving better, more sustainable, and fairer policies that benefit whole communities.

Together, over many years, we have made real, hard-won progress on this agenda. There are more girls in school; fewer girls forced into early marriage; more women serving in high political offices and private sector leadership positions; and there have been encouraging legal reforms in many countries to address inequalities.

However, progress has stalled. At the current rate, it will take 135 years to close the gender gap worldwide. Women and girls are, and continue to be, disproportionately impacted by crises, be it the COVID pandemic, conflict, or climate change.

Take COVID as an example. At a global level, we have witnessed women shouldering the unpaid care burden and being hardest hit economically, deepening poverty for women and girls. There has been a global surge in gender-based violence, reduced access to sexual and reproductive health and rights; and increases in child marriage and adolescent pregnancy. An estimated 20 million girls will never return to school because of COVID.

Recent months have also shown the deep resilience of the human spirit and of free societies, with women and girls on the frontline of and being affected by multiple brutal conflicts, including most recently due to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Increasing authoritarianism is undermining democratic values, human rights and effective institutions and placing these hard-won gains under threat. Systematic attempts by several actors to roll back and reverse women’s and girls’ rights have gained momentum at the international and community level.

In Afghanistan, twenty years of progress on women’s rights have been reversed. Afghan girls have been largely banned from secondary school for over a year, the only country in the world where this is the case.
In Iran, the death of Mahsa Amini is a shocking reminder of the repression faced by women. No one should face violence because of what they wear, how they practice their beliefs or any expression of fundamental rights.

The UK stands steadfast in its commitment to protect and promote women’s and girls’ rights. In particular, we must respect the bodily autonomy of women and girls throughout their lives by supporting them in exercising their sexual and reproductive rights, preventing all forms of gender-based violence and eliminating harmful practices including female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage.

The UK has a long record of leading the charge against gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence. This November, the UK will host a major international conference to promote prevention, justice and support for survivors, and strengthening the global response.

Mr Chair,

We are prepared to do things differently, to think differently, and to work differently to achieve true gender equality. We must act across multiple sectors and disciplines simultaneously and tackle the many forms of disadvantage that women and girls face, spanning age, race, disability, economic status, gender identity, religion/belief and geographical location.

And we cannot do this alone. We will continue to work with our partners, including women’s rights organisations who are at the frontlines of this work, to deliver for women and girls everywhere.

I thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 October 2022.

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

Thank you Mr. President, and let me start by commending the tireless efforts of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq and of the Special Representative in difficult circumstances.

We’d like to make four points today.

First, the UK offers our deepest condolences for the deaths and casualties caused by the violence in the International Zone in Baghdad on the 29th and 30th of August. As the Special Representative said, the country stood on the brink of chaos. We cannot allow violence to destabilise the political process.

We urge Iraq’s leaders to work together urgently in the coming weeks to find a peaceful, inclusive solution to the political crisis. The political impasse has gone on too long. This will enable Iraq to address and tackle the considerable challenges faced by its people, from ensuring the country’s long term security, to tackling climate change, delivering urgent economic reform, and reconstructing the areas of the country liberated from the control of Da’esh.

Second, the UK condemns in the strongest terms Iran’s indiscriminate missile attack on Kurdish towns on the 28th of September, which led to the loss of innocent lives and damaged civilian infrastructure. These attacks are a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and are wholly unacceptable. They demonstrate a repeated pattern of destabilising activity in the region by Iran. We stand with the Kurdistan Regional Government in condemning these attacks and continue to support the security of Iraq, including the Kurdistan region.

Third, we need to manage carefully the humanitarian risks. We welcome the efforts by the FAO and the WFP to support food production and sustainable resource management. We urge regional neighbours to engage with the government of Iraq on water shortages. The UK is also working with UNDP to support the government of Iraq in dealing with the worst effects of climate change, including providing support on the governance of water resources.

Finally, we welcome the Special Representative’s update on missing Kuwaiti and third country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property. We note the progress made on the identification of burial sites, including in Najaf, and we urge continued progress on this file.

Mr President, the fundamental point is this: As the Special Representative has said, Iraq’s political leaders must step up their efforts to resolve the current impasse and begin delivering for the Iraqi people. And as a Council, we must be united in encouraging progress on this.

Thank you.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 October 2022.

Lord Zac Goldsmith, Minister for Asia said:

The UK condemns North Korea’s launch of an Intermediate-range ballistic missile on 3 October and calls on the regime to immediately stop all activity that violates UN Security Council Resolutions.

This is the first ballistic missile since 2017 that has been launched over Japan and demonstrates North Korea’s reckless actions. The UK stands alongside our allies and partners as we confront the growing threat North Korea poses to regional and international security.  Once again North Korea shows no regard for its international obligations.

We urge the DPRK regime to put the well-being of its own people ahead of the illegal pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 October 2022.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 October 2022.

The UK Permanent Representative to the UK in Geneva, Ambassador Simon Manley, delivered a statement on the High Commissioner’s Oral Update on Ukraine.

Thank you Mr President.

Thank you Director for your admirably objective update.

Two weeks ago the Commission of Inquiry confirmed that war crimes have indeed been committed in Ukraine, days after the liberation of areas in Kharkiv oblast revealed yet more Russian atrocities.

Last week, President Putin purported to annex four regions of Ukraine – a blatant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and of international law – and then used Russia’s veto to try to avoid the scorn of the Security Council.

Today, you have made clear the horrors and the scope of Putin’s violations of human rights law and international law in the course of his war of aggression.

Hospitals, schools, places of worship destroyed. Millions denied their basic rights to health, education and religion or belief.

Sexual violence and rape, including of children. Civilians shot dead in the street trying to gather fuel, food or medicine.

There are apparently no limits to Putin’s disregard for International Law, or to the Ukrainian people’s unspeakable suffering. And in Russia, those enough to protest the war and mobilisation face arrest and abuse in detention. Aggression abroad, repression at home.

There is one simple way to end the suffering in Ukraine. President Putin: bring your troops home. End the war. Respect the law.

Director,

Faced with Russia’s continued flouting of international law, how can the OHCHR minimise the devastating impact on ordinary people.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 October 2022.

• Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex, accompanied by FCDO Minister of State, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI), visits a ground-breaking foundation for survivors run by Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege
• this is the first visit by a member of the Royal family to DRC
• the visit comes ahead of a major global conference on PSVI being hosted in London in November by the UK government, which Her Royal Highness will attend

The Countess of Wessex is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), accompanied by Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Minister of State Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, to raise awareness of the urgent need to tackle sexual violence in conflict in the DRC and around the world.

For Her Royal Highness, the visit is part of a long-standing commitment to championing this issue.

Lord Ahmad as the UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative for PSVI, joined her on the visit to gain a deeper and practical insight into DRC’s experiences of tackling conflict-related sexual violence, and identify lessons learned to share at a global PSVI Conference in the UK next month.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dr Denis Mukwege welcomed them to his groundbreaking foundation in Bukavu. The Panzi Foundation has transformed the lives of thousands of women who have suffered sexual violence in the armed conflict and violence in DRC. The Foundation provides medical care, legal assistance, psychological support and economic programmes to offer a holistic model of care for survivors of these horrific crimes.

The Countess of Wessex and Lord Ahmad saw first-hand the difference the Panzi Foundation has made to women’s lives during the first ever visit by a member of the Royal family to DRC.

The UK will host a major international conference in London in November, marking 10 years since the launch of PSVI, an initiative which Lord Ahmad now leads. The conference will bring together the UK and its partners around the world to review progress made in the last decade, identify shared challenges and agree further action.

Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

Sexual violence in conflict continues to shatter lives and scar communities around the world. Tackling it is a top priority for the UK and we will continue to work with our partners to provide better support for survivors, bring perpetrators to justice and encourage partners to share new ideas and experiences of tackling sexual violence in conflict at the conference in November.

Since 2012, we have committed over £50 million to support projects around the world that help prevent conflict-related sexual violence, including in the DRC. This includes providing £2.7 million to the Global Survivors Fund, whose projects in the DRC have supported over 1,000 survivors.

Dr Mukwege, Founder of the Panzi Hospital and Foundation, and President of the Global Survivors Fund, said:

My staff and I are grateful for the visit of Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex and Lord Tariq Ahmad. Too often, the world turns a blind eye towards the suffering of survivors, especially here in DRC. Their visit will highlight the ongoing critical work to end conflict-related sexual violence, both in this country and around the globe.

During the visit to eastern DRC, The Countess of Wessex and Lord Ahmad met with survivors of sexual violence, and civil society organisations in Bukavu to gain an understanding of the challenges they face.

In Kinshasa, Her Royal Highness and Lord Ahmad will also meet President Felix Tshisekedi and First Lady Denise Tshisekedi, the Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Christophe Lutundula, and other Ministers, for discussions on sexual violence in conflict, the UK’s international conference, and other important issues such as climate change.