Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 October 2022.

UK Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French, delivered a statement ahead of the vote on the resolution ‘From rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance’.

Mr. President, we remain resolute in our commitment to combating all forms of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia and related intolerance whether that be at home or abroad. Discrimination of any kind has no place in society, and we will continue to treat all forms of discrimination with equal seriousness.

Nonetheless, we have a number of concerns with this text. We do not agree with the multiple references to the Durban Conference, given the historic concerns over antisemitism. And we cannot accept the references to the Durban Review Conference or the positive language regarding last year’s commemorative event in New York and its political declaration.

We do not agree with claims made in this resolution that states are required to make reparations for the slave trade and colonialism, which caused great suffering to many but were not, at that time, violations of international law. Moreover, these claims divert focus from the pressing challenges of tackling contemporary racism and global inequality – which are global challenges affecting all regions. We believe that the most effective way for us all today to respond to the cruelty of the past is to ensure that current and future generations do not forget what happened.

Mr. President, we stressed last year that the importance of the fight against racism requires that we move forward together on a common path. For that to happen, we must come together to find a new approach, one that focuses on what we are all individually and collectively going to do to combat the scourge that is modern-day racism. This draft resolution, however, does not offer the sort of new approach around which we can achieve consensus and for that reason we will vote against it.

We are committed to continuing a dialogue with the sponsors of this resolution and hope that we might be able to reach a different outcome in the future.

Thank you Mr. President.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 October 2022.

Ambassador Simon Manley delivered a general remark after a vote on the situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China.

Thank you, Mr President

Permit me to make a few remarks after the vote in relation to the Draft Decision to hold a debate on the Human Rights Situation in Xinjiang.

Members of the core group that proposed the Decision align themselves with this statement.

Let me begin by thanking every member of this Council who voted in favour of the Draft Decision, as well as every nation which co-sponsored the draft. We welcome the support of each and every one of you.

Our aim in proposing this Draft Decision was to bring before the Council an issue, which clearly warrants this Council’s attention. No state should be free to avoid scrutiny over allegations of possible crimes against humanity, whatever their region, whatever their size, or whatever their influence. And to be clear, that includes the UK.

It has been clear from talking to colleagues over recent weeks, that almost everybody in this room acknowledges that there are serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. The recent OHCHR assessment confirms these concerns with meticulous rigour, drawing extensively on first-hand testimonies and information published by Chinese authorities.

While the Decision was not adopted, the many discussions around the draft decision in Geneva and in Human Rights Council member capitals, have served to highlight the scale, and the nature, of the terrible violations being faced by Uyghur and other Muslims in Xinjiang.

It was therefore correct for the Core Group to seek a debate at the Council. To have done otherwise would have been to ignore the plight of those subjected to arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment, forced labour, sexual and gender-based violence, forced sterilisations and enforced disappearance. It would have been to disregard the testimony of those who have experienced these violations first hand and helped to bring them to light, despite huge personal risk. It would have been to look the other way, when faced with allegations of possible crimes against humanity, committed against huge numbers of people from minority groups based on their ethnicity and religion.

Mr President, dear colleagues,

Problems don’t go away by ignoring them. So, we will continue to raise our concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, in international fora. We will continue to urge China to change course, and to cease the practices which the OHCHR assessment has described to us, in such clear and disturbing detail. And we will not forget the plight of the Uyghurs in China.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 October 2022.

Ambassador Simon Manley, Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, delivered an explanation of vote on the resolution to renew the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Venezuela.

Thank you, Mr President,

Let me thank, first of all, the core group for presenting this draft resolution. We fully support the renewal of the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Both have done a remarkable job in revealing the extent of human rights violations committed in Venezuela and providing recommendations for the steps that need to be taken.

The Fact-Finding Mission’s findings show why it is so important that it should continue its work. These include evidence of grave human rights violations taking place as part of a widespread and systematic attack by the authorities on the civilian population. In the absence of official data from Venezuela, the Fact-Finding Mission’s independent and evidence-based reports provide crucial documentation of events that deserve the attention of all of us on this Council.

We also welcome the renewal of OHCHR’s mandate. Its presence and the protection services it offers have been critical for victims and detainees. The Office plays a key role in indicating the extent of cooperation from the Venezuelan authorities and in tracking developments in the human rights situation in the country. We are in no doubt that its work in Venezuela greatly helps all of us in the international community to monitor continuing violations as well as positive developments.

We do urge Venezuela to comply with the OHCHR’s previous recommendations in full; to continue technical cooperation in good faith; and to provide the OHCHR with unfettered access to the whole country.

Mr President, we call on this Council to stand up for freedom and in solidarity with the people of Venezuela. Renewal of the Fact-Finding Mission and the Office of the High Commissioner’s mandates will provide continuity, scrutiny and accountability, and a path towards a freer future for the people of Venezuela.

We will therefore vote in favour of the draft resolution before this Council and we urge our fellow members of this Council to do the same.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 October 2022.

Ambassador Simon Manley, Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, introduced the resolution on the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Thank you, Mr President,

I have the honour to present draft resolution L.18 on the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, on behalf of a group of states: France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Qatar, Turkey, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Mr President,

Month after month, year after year, the situation on the ground in Syria continues to deteriorate before our very eyes. Human rights violations remain widespread and systematic. The now critical humanitarian situation is exacerbated by the insecurity which the regime and its backers continue to provoke.

The Commission of Inquiry recently warned this Council that we risk further dire consequences if this trajectory continues.

In our draft resolution, we specifically focus on developments in Syria over the last six months.

Targeted attacks on civilians, in their homes, at markets, have killed innocent women and children.

Civilians are being deprived of food, water, and the basic needs required simply to survive.

Those in detention continue to suffer appalling conditions, ill-treatment and torture.

Meanwhile families endure a different type of torture, that of not knowing if and when they will see ever their loved ones again.

Mr President,

This Council cannot turn away, cannot stay silent, when it comes to the regime’s blatant disregard for the rights and lives of its people.

The resolution put forward today condemns the lethal violence inflicted on the Syrian people; demands that critical humanitarian aid is delivered without hindrance; and calls for further support for those seeking the fate of their loved ones, in the face of very real threats to their safety and their livelihoods.

Let me, Mr President, thank all those delegations who have engaged constructively in the informal consultations on this resolution.

Given the lives lost, the suffering endured and the unwillingness of the regime to protect the Syrian people, the very least this Council can do is to adopt this resolution. Together, we can send a message that the world has not forgotten the people of Syria.

If a vote is called on this resolution, I urge our fellow members of this Council to vote in favour of it.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 October 2022.

Ambassador Simon Manley, Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, delivered the following Explanation of Vote on the resolution calling for the establishment of a Special Rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation in Russia.

Thank you, Mr President,

What a timely moment to be debating this resolution. As others have noted, the Nobel Committee has recognised the work just this morning of Memorial, of Ales Bialiatski, and the Centre of Civil Liberties. And I quote their phrase in so doing that they recognise their “outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and abuse of power”. Yes, indeed.

We would like to thank our 26 European allies for showing leadership on this issue and bringing a resolution to the Council that is a measured, proportionate and necessary response to the alarming human rights situation in Russia. The truth is that President Putin uses repressive legislation to restrict freedom of speech and assembly; he crushes dissent through arbitrary detention and violence; and he has created a climate of fear and intimidation in order to deter civil society and activists from speaking out against the authorities.

Since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, repression and attacks against individuals exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms have only increased.

Repression at home enables aggression abroad. Putin’s Government tries to silence those who speak out against the war and detain those who try to avoid being abroad to die in the towns and fields of Ukraine. The increasing violence abroad in turn necessitates more brutal repression at home.

We have heard arguments in this house today that the response proposed in this resolution is somehow disproportionate, or that steps should be ‘more incremental’. But the reality is that the action being proposed in this Council in response to the human rights crisis in Russia is considered; it is deliberate; and it is entirely appropriate.

Mr President, as Russia increases repression against its own citizens, the countless number of Russian people who have suffered – and continue to suffer – are looking to us, in this room, right now, to demonstrate that we stand in solidarity with them. To demonstrate that we will not ignore their struggle, or their grief. And that this Council can help them to establish the truth and provide hope to those working to protect human rights.

For these reasons the United Kingdom will vote Yes on the draft resolution before us, and we urge our fellow members of this Council to do the same.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 October 2022.

Deputy Ambassador Brown says that Russia’s illegal war has had an impact on human rights and fundamental freedoms in Ukraine, Russia and across the OSCE region.

Thank you very much Mr Chair.

I would like to say congratulations on the wonderful news to those who have won the Nobel Prize.

I would also like to add our thanks to the organisers of this year’s Human Dimension Conference, to all those who have arranged side events and to all those who have spoken, including through our excellent interpreters.

Now, more than ever, platforms like this are vital to give government officials, international experts, civil society representatives and human rights defenders an opportunity to take stock and reflect on the state of human rights and fundamental freedoms across the OSCE region.

This conference has taken place under the dark cloud of President Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. A war which has had an impact on human rights and fundamental freedoms, not only in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but across the OSCE region. The UK strongly condemns the sham referenda in the areas under temporary Russian control. The UK will never recognise the supposed outcome.

I would like to thank the inspiring human rights defenders and civil society representatives for their courage, tireless and selfless work and their bravery in sharing their stories with us over the past two weeks.

I want to reassure you that we have heard you.

We have heard your recommendations: to use OSCE monitoring tools, such as the Moscow Mechanism, effectively and ensure that recommendations are followed up upon; to support Human Rights Defenders working in country as well as in exile; to use our statements to support victims of oppressive governments and to call out those responsible for such oppression. We have noted many more.

We have heard the requests of those working on fundamental freedoms in Russia to differentiate between President Putin’s regime and the people of Russia.

We have heard your calls not to neglect the backsliding of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democracy in other participating States.

We have heard from the formidable and unwavering wives, mothers and sisters of Ukrainian political prisoners, detained civilians, and those forcibly disappeared, many of whom remain detained and many who remain missing to this day, their families resolutely searching for scraps of information on their whereabouts. To name, but a few, of those who are detained or disappeared:

Serhiy Tsyhipa

Mykyta Buzinov

Nariman Dzelyal

Asan Akhmetov

Aziz Akhtemov

Vladyslav Yesypenko

Iryna Danilovych

Mykola Masliy

Yevhen Hurianov

Olha Melnychenko

We share in the hope of their loved ones – that they will be found, released and reunited.

We think of others across the region, including Vladimir Kara-Murza and the 1,300 political prisoners in Belarus.

We urge Russia and Belarus to engage with us and with the families who deserve answers.

We will continue to raise cases until political prisoners are free and the whereabouts of those forcibly disappeared are revealed. We will not forget.

Thank you Mr Chair.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 October 2022.

The UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French, underlines the UK’s support for the Special Rapporteur’s work on Afghanistan at the UN Human Rights Council.

Thank you, Mr President,

Let me begin by expressing my heartfelt condolences to the victims of the horrific attack at the Kaaj Education Centre last week.

And let me thank the main sponsors of resolution L27 for presenting this important initiative to the Council. We welcome their constructive and transparent engagement during the negotiation process on what we believe is a balanced text.

This resolution seeks to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan for a further year. Looking back to the start of this session, we listened to courageous human rights defenders from Afghanistan in this very room. We heard testimonies from the women and girls who are being rendered invisible by the Taliban. And we heard from the Special Rapporteur himself, about this crucial mandate in giving a voice to those who remain in the country whilst their human rights are being stripped away.

That is why the UK strongly supports the continuation and strengthening of this mandate at a time when Afghans need it the most. Afghanistan still remains the only country in the world where girls cannot attend secondary school. Religious and ethnic minorities, particularly the Hazara people, LGBT+ persons and civil society activists are facing increased levels of violence and discrimination.

Mr President,

The UK has co-sponsored this draft resolution. We urge all members of the Council to join us in fully supporting the Special Rapporteur’s work and reject attempts to derail this much-needed mandate.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council debate on strengthening the fight against the financing of armed groups and terrorists through the illicit trafficking of natural resources.

Thank you very much, President.

President Excellency, thank you for convening this important debate, and I thank our briefers as well this morning for their insights. I’d like to highlight three considerations.

First, as today’s briefers and previous speakers have underlined, we recognise the clear link between illicit trading of natural resources and conflict. From Somalia to Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the illicit trade in natural resources of charcoal, timber and gold has helped fund conflict and the activities of armed groups.

And we should bear in mind that increased global demand for critical minerals – essential to decarbonisation and our green growth goals – risks exacerbating the illegal sourcing of natural resources without appropriate action.

So we do need a concerted and coordinated effort to tackle illicit trafficking as a root cause of conflict, and in this context, I welcome the African Union’s efforts including conflict prevention, including the work of Commissioner Bankole and his department. As a Council, too, we should look at ways to strengthen the UN Security Council’s sanctions regimes both against individuals and entities that illegally exploit natural resources to fund or prolong or provoke conflict. The Council acted in Somalia by banning the export of charcoal to inhibit Al-Shabaab’s revenue streams; we can and should do more across other mandates.

Second, President, we need stronger regulation and governance efforts to tackle the illicit trafficking of natural resources, including stringent certification and verification processes.

And in this context, the UK is proud to support a number of international mechanisms that deliver this, including the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains and the Kimberley Process that helps stem the flow of conflict diamonds.

Finally, President, we share the view of previous distinguished speakers of the dangerous consequences of the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources by private military companies.

There is significant independent reporting outlining the exploitation of gold resources in Sudan and the Central African Republic through Wagner Group’s subsidiaries like Meroe Gold. Gold extraction and smuggling operations risk undermining local stability, present significant ecological and human rights risks and are a significant loss to Sudan.

The United Kingdom reiterates our concerns over Wagner Group’s activities in Africa, which undermine effective resource governance and offer no sustainable solutions to Africa’s security challenges.

In concluding, President, I thank you again for convening this important debate during Gabon’s Security Council Presidency.

Thank you.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 October 2022.

Ambassador Simon Manley, Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, introduced the resolution on the renewal of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, its causes and consequences.

Thank you, Mr President,

I have the honour to present draft resolution L.30 on the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, its causes and consequences on behalf of the Core Group.

At the start of this session, the ILO and IOM informed the international community that 10 million more people are in situations of modern slavery compared to 2016. This means that the global estimate of people in modern slavery is almost 50 million, of which 28 million people are in situations of forced labour and 22 million people are trapped in forced marriages.

These numbers are simply appalling.

Mr President,

The resolution presented today seeks to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, its causes and consequences for a further three years. The core group have only made minor technical updates to the text.

This mandate has enjoyed more than 15 years of consensus and long-standing cross-regional support. And these staggering recent figures underline the ongoing need for this mandate to continue.

I sincerely thank all those colleagues who have engaged constructively in the negotiation process on this resolution and, in particular, our more than 50 co-sponsors. I hope that all members of this Council can join consensus on this important issue.

Thank you

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 October 2022.

FCDO Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia and the United Nations Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has issued a statement on the UN resolution.

Responding to the UN resolution, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia and the United Nations Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

We welcome the result of today’s vote on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR). This resolution will support progress on human rights, justice, and accountability. It has renewed the mandate of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to report on Sri Lanka and to protect and preserve evidence of past human rights abuses to use in future accountability processes. This is integral to establish truth and achieve lasting justice and reconciliation, as well as to improve human rights in the country.

Our focus should now turn to our collective and renewed ability to work with the new Government of Sri Lanka to take forward their commitments to the Council. We call on UNHRC members to support this effort, and to work together to address the economic challenges faced by the people of Sri Lanka.

Notes to editors:

The UK has supported efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, including at the UNHRC for many years. This new resolution acknowledges the challenging economic situation in Sri Lanka, and the progress made in addressing this in recent months. It continues the international community’s efforts to centre and support victims of Sri Lanka armed conflict. The UNHRC framework is integral to establish truth and achieve lasting justice and reconciliation, as well as to improve human rights in the country.

The UK is the penholder on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, meaning we lead on preparing resolutions and other products, and has held this position since 2017. The UK is a member of the Core Group on Sri Lanka, along with United States, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Malawi.

The FCDO has a range of UK-funded programmes which support a number of human rights priorities, including UK’s £11.3 million Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme (2022 to 2025) for Sri Lanka which focusses on addressing the legacy of conflict in the country.

The UK is providing £3 million of lifesaving humanitarian support for Sri Lanka. The funding will be delivered through Red Cross and UN partners. It will provide access to food, seeds, and tools to help grow crops as well as mental health care, including for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.