Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council Debate on UN-AU Cooperation.

Thank you President and thank you for convening this debate during your Security Council Presidency, and I thank the Secretary-General and the AU Chair for their briefings.

On this, the 20th anniversary of the African Union, strengthening the partnership between the UN, the AU, and African Member States remains indispensable as we strive towards a freer, safer, and more prosperous continent.

That is why the UK supports permanent African representation on the Security Council.

That is why the Annual Consultations later this week between the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council are so important.

President, I want to emphasise three points about this important partnership.

First, coordination between the AU, UN and other international partners is vital for finding political solutions to conflicts including in northern Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia.

We therefore welcome the planned, AU-facilitated talks concerning northern Ethiopia and urge the Ethiopian Government and TPLF to engage in the process.

In Sudan, we welcome cooperation between the UN, AU, and IGAD to help facilitate a political solution following last October’s military coup. As a Council we must continue to support the tripartite mechanism’s efforts to deliver the freedom, peace, and justice which the Sudanese people have called for.

And in Somalia, AMISOM and its successor the AU Transition Mission in Somalia demonstrate the value of UN-AU cooperation. The UK has long supported this critical cooperation, including contributing £25 million towards ATMIS stipends this year alone.

Secondly, President, the UN-AU partnership is important for tackling trans-regional challenges to stability such as terrorism, disease, climate, and food insecurity.

At least 130 million people in Africa are experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity. The UK is working with African partners to address the heightened food, economic and wider humanitarian risks in the region that have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

Finally, President, I note today is International Day of the Girl Child. We welcome AU efforts on Children and Armed Conflict, as well as recent AUPSC meetings on Women, Peace, and Security, and gender-based violence. The AU-UN partnership is important for making progress on these issues. We look forward to working closely to implement the Transforming Education Summit in support of 12 years of quality education for girls, and to strengthening cooperation on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. We hope the AU will participate in the International Conference the UK is hosting next month – focusing on prevention, justice, and supporting survivors.

And I thank you, Mr. President.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 October 2022.

• UK Government will increase support to ensure the safety of people in the Turks & Caicos Islands
• The British Overseas Territory has seen a major surge in gang violence, with 15 fatal shootings since 3 September
• UK has sent a ship and agreed a deployment of 24 firearms officers from the neighbouring Bahamas

The UK Government is sending a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship to the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) – and has agreed a deployment of specialist police from neighbouring Caribbean islands – to ensure the safety and security of people, amid a surge in gang violence.

TCI is a British Overseas Territory with a population of less than 50,000. The UK is responsible for the safety and security of people there.

A detachment of 24 highly-trained specialist firearms officers from The Bahamas arrived on Friday and are now on active duty on the islands. Discussions are underway with other neighbouring states on additional support. In parallel, the UK is providing a package of longer-term support to build local capacity on areas including intelligence gathering, firearms training and border control.

The Royal Navy has deployed RFA Tideforce, which is on the way to the islands. The ship is a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker and will be used as a platform for operations, bringing with it a Wildcat helicopter, which offers a surveillance capability and can support security operations.

Alongside this, a package of maritime surveillance support has been agreed from the US, over October, to include a fixed-wing aircraft and a Blackhawk helicopter.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

The UK has a moral and constitutional responsibility to support and protect the people of the Overseas Territories, who are a valued part of the UK family. We had to act following the terrible violence we’ve seen in the Turks & Caicos Islands these past few weeks.

I’m grateful to the brave men and women of the local police force, as well as those from the Bahamas who are providing invaluable immediate support. The Governor and Premier are also working tirelessly to protect communities. Together, we will ensure that violent crime is stamped out in the TCI in the long term.

This help forms part of a wider package of support from the UK Government to tackle violent crime on TCI, which includes:

• The UK Government is also working to recruit and fund a new serious crime team who will sit at the heart of the TCI police force, building a permanent capability to tackle gang crime;
• UK police are engaging with local TCI counterparts to finalise a contingency plan for additional specialist support to deploy, if needed;
• This is in addition to a series of deployments of UK police to provide longer-term support for operations and to build capacity in the TCI to tackle gang crime. These include firearms trainers, detectives and border force agents;
• The UK is procuring a permanent maritime surveillance aircraft to help secure TCI’s borders;
• The National Crime Agency is deploying staff to the TCI, working closely with local police intelligence teams, to support the development of additional intelligence capability within TCI, including advice on lawful intercept legislation;
• Ongoing support through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund has included a secondment of a Border Security lead, a programme of training and capability building to the TCI police, as well as support for a project of customs and border transformation.

TCI has seen a surge in violent crime in the past few months, which is believed to be linked to the arrival of organised criminal gangs from elsewhere in the Caribbean.

The security situation has rapidly deteriorated in TCI over the past weeks, with 11 fatal shootings in September and a further four in October.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 October 2022.

The UK’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Simon Manley, delivered this statement during the 73rd session of the UNHCR Executive Committee.

Thank you very much, most distinguished Madame Chair, and High Commissioner.

This year, we come together here in the face of a myriad of challenges. Armed conflict; violence; persecution; climate change; economic uncertainty; and food insecurity – all of them on the rise.

The figures are well-known and they’ve been well-rehearsed here in this hall over the last couple of days. But they don’t lose their power to shock. Over 300 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 100 million forcibly displaced.

The humanitarian system alone cannot respond to those 300 million people in need. Coming together in this Executive Committee – striving to do better, and to reach as many in need as possible – is critical.

And, High Commissioner, as others have said, as ever, we remain deeply inspired by and grateful to all UNHCR staff and their partners for their tremendous efforts, striving to assist millions in the toughest and often the most dangerous situations. And despite the risks that you and your staff take on, and the personal sacrifices that so many of you make, UNHCR’s dedication is steadfast. For this, and for so much more, we applaud you.

Let me also recognize and commend the enormous generosity of host nations and communities who welcome and support those who are forced to flee their homes, as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel did so eloquently at the Nansen Awards last night.

High Commissioner, this is a critical moment for tens of millions of vulnerable people across the globe.

The COVID pandemic, climate change, and conflict have created the worst food security crisis in more than a generation. And we need to do more work, right now, to break the cycle of famine.

And let me take a moment, Chair, to echo others’ horror and incredulity in the face of President Putin’s latest atrocities in Ukraine: strikes on civilian targets that have no other purpose than trying to spread terror. This, after an aggression that has already displaced almost 14 million people and left almost 18 million in need of humanitarian assistance and which has worsened food insecurity across the planet.

All this – at a time when globally, humanitarian need has never been greater.

For our part in the UK, we are taking life-saving action. This year, we plan to provide more than £150 million to East Africa, including to meet urgent needs in Somalia. And we pledged over £50m to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund at the G7 Summit.

Our new International Development Strategy sets out our long-standing commitment to life-saving humanitarian work. We intend to contribute £3 billion to humanitarian needs, globally, over the next three years.

And our Humanitarian Framework delivers on the ambition laid out in that strategy in three ways: prioritising humanitarian assistance to people in greatest need; protecting the people most at risk in conflict and crises; and preventing and anticipating future shocks and building resilience.

As a nation, and as a Government, we are strongly committed to supporting refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and all those people across the world who are forcibly displaced from their homes – as well as the countries who so generously host them. We continue to provide significant levels of multi-year, unearmarked funding to UNHCR, and our total funding in 2022 stands at over $100m.

High Commissioner, we commend UNHCR’s progress in driving reform to become a more effective and more efficient organisation. We have seen already welcome changes, including decentralisation and the introduction of COMPASS for multi-year planning, budgeting and monitoring. We look forward to partnering with you to ensure that these changes continue to drive improvement.

We also recognise your efforts to expand the donor base, and welcome the significant increase in contributions from the private sector this year. It’s critical that UNHCR seizes the opportunity to build on these new partnerships to ensure they are both sustainable and strategic, and that can offer long-term support to your mandate.

Last, but far from least: after a successful High-level Official Meeting at the end of 2021, we now look forward to the second Global Refugee Forum in late 2023. This will be an important milestone for all those concerned with the plight of refugees and the forcibly displaced, and we will work alongside you and other Member States to deliver a Forum which ensures the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees to find practical, long-term solutions for refugees, internally displaced, asylum seekers, the stateless – and their host communities.

Thank you very much.

 

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 October 2022.

UK Exports Minister Marcus Fysh is joining a delegation of 18 British companies visiting Thailand this week to showcase innovative methods of delivering quality education. They offer services in AI, real-time data, teacher training and language learning.

The delegation will exhibit at BETT Asia, Asia Pacific’s leading EdTech summit. Participants will hear from leading academic institutions, education ministers, and cutting-edge tech businesses on the future of learning.

The DIT UK Pavilion at BETT Asia will be the centre point during the event, with 12 UK EdTech companies exhibiting under the UK Pavilion and another 6 at the wider show including companies from the Northern Power House.

The UK has much to offer as an established and fast-growing hub for emerging EdTech. It is home to over 1,000 innovative EdTech and educational supply companies.

Two countries in Southeast Asia – Vietnam and Indonesia – have been named in the five priority countries and regions in the UK’s International Education Strategy. This aims to increase education exports to £35 billion per year and to boost the number of international students in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030.

Southeast Asia is an important partner for the UK in education. The region has contributed more than £800m in education exports in the last 5 years, making it the 3rd global education export performer after China, and the Middle East and North Africa.

Marcus Fysh, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Exports), Department for International Trade said:

The UK’s education sector is one of the jewels in the crown of our service exports, and I’m pleased to see so many British businesses on display here at BETT Asia. The education services that UK firms can provide around the world hugely benefit student outcomes and inclusivity, as well as strengthening partnerships with schools, colleges, universities and industry in the ASEAN region.

We want to see more British businesses entering the global education market, of all sizes, and it’s through tradeshows like BETT Asia that businesses can really thrive and sell their services to the world. When more businesses export it generates, jobs and growth for the economy.

Natalie Black, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific said:

I am delighted to welcome a delegation of fantastic British EdTech companies to Thailand to discover opportunities for growth and explore new markets.

The UK is recognised across the world for its high-quality education and research. COVID-19 has transformed teaching and learning around the world, including in Asia Pacific. We are keen to play an active part in supporting recovery in all levels of education.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 October 2022.

Ambassador Neil Bush condemns Russia’s intense barrage of missile attacks on Kyiv and across Ukraine, including Lviv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2022.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN General Assembly Emergency Special Session on Ukraine.

Mr President, Excellencies,

In February, the General Assembly met in an Emergency Special Session to condemn Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

And today, we meet again to condemn Russia’s sham referenda and attempted illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhyzhya, Luhansk and Donetsk: the largest forcible annexation attempt since the Second World War.

Putin is trying to take Ukraine’s land, its resources, its identity. In so doing, he is overturning the most sacred principle in the international system: that borders cannot be redrawn by force.

Over seven months into the war, the whole world understands the terrible cost of Russia’s invasion.

In Ukraine, families count that cost in the bodies exhumed from mass graves, in the rubble of flattened towns and the lost education for millions of innocent children, and in the growing list of friends and relatives detained or forcibly deported through Russia’s filtration process. Even this morning, millions across Ukraine awoke to the sound of air raid sirens as Russia carried out one of the largest bombardments of civilian areas and infrastructure of the war.

Around the world, people and governments are suffering from the unaffordable cost of higher food and energy prices. As a result of Russia’s invasion, everyone’s lives have been made more difficult – and more insecure.
Here in New York, we also see the cost in terms of damage to the UN Charter. The UN Charter enshrines the principle that no threat or use of force shall be made against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

We have no way to resolve disputes or achieve the fundamental goals of the UN if we concede this principle – if any rogue head of state can by force or fiat change the borders of another UN member.

This Assembly’s call on Russia since the start of its illegal invasion has been simple: end this war and withdraw from Ukraine.

For the sake of Ukraine, Russia and the entire UN membership, we reiterate this call today. We call on Russia to end the war and honour the UN Charter.

Colleagues, at the end of this debate, we will have an opportunity to vote on a resolution to condemn Russia’s so-called referenda and illegal annexation. We urge everyone here to vote in support of international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states and the UN Charter.

We urge all members to vote “yes” on the resolution.

I thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2022.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The UK is committed to the promotion, protection and realisation of the rights of all children. Disparities between children continue to grow, and we must ensure that our efforts to promote and protect the rights of children leave no child behind.

Following the COVID pandemic, this work is now more urgent than ever. As the Special Representative for the Secretary-General on Violence against Children noted in her annual report, violence against children increased during the pandemic while also becoming less visible. We also know that normal prevention and response mechanisms were disrupted – leaving many children without vital support networks. These challenges illustrate the critical importance of strong, pre-existing child-sensitive and gender-sensitive systems as a basis for effective responses.

In the recent Secretary General’s report on the issue of Child, Early and Forced Marriage highlights how COVID is likely to lead to an additional 10 million child brides ahead of 2030, particularly those from poor households and rural areas. To help protect our collective hard-won gains, the UK pledged £18 million of funding to accelerate efforts through the UN Global Programme to End Child Marriage, last year.

But it is not just the impacts of COVID. We are also deeply concerned by the impact of conflict and humanitarian crisis on children’s rights, safety and wellbeing. According to the Secretary General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, cases of sexual violence and abduction have increased significantly, by over 20%. The abduction of girls has also increased by 41%. We recognise that protecting children from the effects of armed conflict is a moral, legal and strategic imperative and an essential element to break the cycle of violence.

As I’ve said in other sessions, tackling sexual violence in conflict remains a top priority for the UK. We will host an international Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Conference next month. And in November last year, the UK launched the Call to Action to Ensure the Rights and Wellbeing of Children Born of Sexual Violence in Conflict. This call was a first step in galvanising international action to support tens of thousands of children who are marginalised and stigmatised by families and communities. Since then, we have also been collaborating with experts and children born of conflict-related sexual violence to develop a detailed framework, called the Platform for Action. We are calling upon Governments to formally endorse the Call to Action and develop their own concrete commitments under the platform to support this vulnerable group.

Finally, threats to children online continue to grow and evolve at a horrifying rate. At any given moment 750,000 people are looking to connect online with children across the globe for sexual purposes. The UK is proud to have recently been identified as a global leader in tackling all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse and to have led a UN resolution recognising the role of the private sector and robust, coherent regulation in protecting children from sexual abuse online.

Mr. Chair, protecting the rights of children is a central part of the UK’s work at home and overseas. We remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting children everywhere, hearing their voices, and ensuring that no child is left behind. Thank you.

The statement made by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2022.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 October 2022.

The UK has imposed sanctions on senior security and political figures in Iran and the so-called ‘Morality Police’.

Mahsa Amini’s death, following her arrest by the Morality Police, has sparked protests across Iran and shocked the world. For decades the Morality Police have used the threat of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public.

In response, the UK has today sanctioned the Morality Police in its entirety, as well as both its chief Mohammed Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi and the Head of the Tehran Division Haj Ahmed Mirzaei.

The UK is also imposing sanctions today on 5 leading political and security officials in Iran for committing serious human rights violations, including:

• Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij force, responsible for internal security in Iran
• Hassan Karami. the Commander of the NAJA Special Forces Unit of the Iranian police
• Hossein Ashtari, the Commander-in-chief of the Iranian police

The Basij force, NAJA Special Forces Unit and the wider Iranian police have played a central role in the crackdown on protests across Iran in recent weeks, as well as the fuel-related protests in 2019.

There have been reports of live ammunition being used against protestors, including when students were blockaded by security forces at the Sharif University earlier this week, and the bodies of protestors killed by security services buried without the families’ knowledge.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

The UK stands with the people of Iran who are bravely calling for accountability from their government and for their fundamental human rights to be respected.

These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities – we will hold you to account for your repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence you have inflicted on your own people.

These sanctions will ensure that the individuals on the list cannot travel to the UK and any of their assets held in the UK, or by UK persons anywhere, will be frozen.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 9 October 2022.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:

North Korea’s decision to conduct another ballistic missile test on 8 October is a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. The UK continues to work closely with our partners to urge North Korea to return to dialogue and take credible steps towards denuclearisation in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

We call on North Korea to prioritise the well-being of their people instead of the illegal pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.