Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive dialogue on the Secretary General’s analytical study on the impact of climate change on human rights. Delivered at the 57th HRC in Geneva.

The UK takes note of the Secretary General’s report and recognises that the impacts of climate change can lead to loss and damage.

In many cases, those disproportionately impacted by climate change are women and girls, indigenous peoples, those with disabilities and those in vulnerable and marginalised situations.

It is clear that more needs to be done at a global, regional and local level to help avert, minimise and address loss and damage.

The UK welcomes the agreement made at COP28 on the operationalisation of funding arrangements, including a fund that responds to loss and damage and assists those countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

The UK is using its seat on the Fund’s Board to work with all stakeholders to:

• ensure timely implementation of an effective Fund
• ensure that the Fund supports countries vulnerable to climate change, particularly the least developed countries and Small Island Developing States, and
• diversify sources of funding.

The UK encourages collaboration, including via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), on shared solutions and ambitious approaches to address the impacts of climate change and to protect the most vulnerable.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on arbitrary detention. Delivered at the 57th HRC in Geneva.

The UK would like to thank the Working Group for its work and for the recommendations in its latest report.

Arbitrary detention is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes, and its use a means of political intimidation. Arbitrary detention not only violates human rights, but also undermines the trust in institutions that keeps societies safe and open.

The UK government works publicly and privately to condemn the use of arbitrary detention, to support those who have been arbitrarily detained, and to demand accountability.

The UK supports the Working Group and we call on all states to respect their international obligations and commitments. We welcome the report’s urgency on the protection of victims of arbitrary detention and call for all states to engage on this matter.

The UK welcomes the initiative of our Canadian colleagues to combat the use of arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations.

Working Group,

What further steps can states take to work together to end the practice of arbitrary detention?

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 September 2024.

The governments of Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, the UK and the USA gave this joint statement.

Joint statement from the governments of Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America:

The undersigned country members of the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse (Global Partnership) call attention to the urgent need to counter the spread of gendered disinformation and address all forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) against women in political and public life.

Gendered disinformation is a threat to societies defending peaceful, democratic values. False or misleading gender and sex-based narratives are being used in campaigns by malign actors to deter and discredit the participation of women, girls and LGBTQI+ persons in political and public life. This not only causes deep harm to the individuals targeted, but also threatens electoral integrity, access to information and the exercise of freedom of expression. At the same time, new and emerging technologies are being used to enable harmful, violent rhetoric and attacks against women, girls and LGBTQI+ public figures across borders at a scale and speed previously unseen.

In our 2023 Road Map, the Global Partnership committed to promoting the meaningful participation in public life for women and girls, in all their diversity, by countering TFGBV and gendered disinformation.

We welcome the work being done to shine a light on how and why gendered disinformation is conceived, who it targets and how it is spread. Last year, in a groundbreaking study, Canada, the European External Action Service, Germany, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the United States jointly assessed the tactics used by foreign state and non-state actors to sow gendered and other identity-based disinformation across the world.

In March 2024 the Global Partnership and members of its Advisory Group co-hosted a multi-stakeholder conference convened by the National Democratic Institute on possible responses (PDF, 2.1 MB) to countering the spread of gendered disinformation in the context of electoral processes. Stakeholders affirmed the need for a comprehensive response to disrupt the spread of gendered disinformation and to support victims and survivors.

The world is at a critical moment for upholding democracy. More than 100 countries have held, or are soon to be holding elections, many of them taking place under democratically challenging circumstances. The active participation of all people, including women, girls and LGBTQI+ persons, is essential for secure, healthy and prosperous democracies.

We call upon states to join us in recognising and taking action to counter the threat of gendered disinformation to democracies globally. We urge technology and other private companies to take appropriate action to respond to this threat, including a commitment to a Safety-by-Design approach to the development and deployment of platforms and technologies. We ask states and all stakeholders to defend and protect the ability of women, girls and LGBTQI+ persons to participate in public life freely, safely and without fear.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 September 2024.

Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Myanmar. Delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.

Thank you Deputy High Commissioner for your update. And we thank the High Commissioner for his report.

The humanitarian and human rights crisis in Myanmar continues to deepen. In August, more than 42,000 people were displaced, and the Myanmar military conducted more airstrikes than in any other month since the coup, targeting villages, schools and hospitals. At the same time, the military continues to obstruct aid, preventing vital supplies from reaching those in need.

We call on the Myanmar military, and all other actors, to allow safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to vulnerable communities. This is crucial as people suffer from the impacts of flooding, growing food insecurity and shortages of health and sanitation supplies. The UK will provide more than £40 million in assistance this financial year. We encourage other Member States to also consider what more they can do.

20,000 people remain arbitrarily detained, including journalists, healthcare workers and political prisoners. The IIMM (Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar) has found credible reports of widespread torture and deaths in detention, including physical abuse and sexual and gender-based violence of the most horrific kind, including against children. The military must release all those arbitrarily detained. We also call on Myanmar to comply with the UN Convention against Torture and respect the rights of detainees.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 September 2024.

British nationals should leave Lebanon immediately, ministers have warned, as the government bolsters its presence in the region.

• Brits warned to act now, and leave Lebanon as soon as possible
• military teams move to Cyprus as contingency planning is rolled out to support British nationals in Lebanon and the region
• ministers continue to call for a ceasefire immediately to end the cycle of violence, as more than 500 people killed in Lebanon in the past 24 hours

British nationals should leave Lebanon immediately, ministers have warned, as the government bolsters its presence in the region.

Around 700 UK troops will move to Cyprus in the coming hours, as the government continues to prepare its contingency plans following significant escalation between Israel and Lebanon in recent days.

The military teams will be supported by Border Force and FCDO officials.

The government continues to advise against all travel to Lebanon, as the situation continues to deteriorate rapidly, with devastating consequences.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:

Events in the past hours and days have demonstrated how volatile this situation is, which is why our message is clear, British nationals should leave now.

We continue to urge all sides to step back from conflict to prevent further tragic loss of life. Our government is ensuring all preparations are in place to support British nationals should the situation deteriorate. I want to thank the British personnel who are deploying in the region for their commitment and professionalism.

The UK already has a significant diplomatic and military footprint in the region, including RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and Royal Navy ships RFA Mounts Bay and HMS Duncan, which have remained in the eastern Mediterranean to support British nationals and allies over the summer.

The Royal Air Force also have aircraft and transport helicopters on standby to provide support if necessary.

The call comes after the Defence Secretary held a meeting with ministers, intelligence chiefs and diplomats on Tuesday afternoon to test government planning.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 24 September 2024.

Statement by Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the UN Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy, the UK commends you not only for standing up for your people but for standing up for democracy.

Seeing you in Kyiv a few weeks ago with Secretary Blinken I saw ordinary people from all walks of life. The soldiers and the civilians. The firefighters and the first responders.

The mothers and the fathers working together in defence of freedom. Your bravery and courage is an inspiration to us all.

But Mr. President, I also want to speak directly to the Kremlin and its representative here today. And Vladimir Putin.

Russia sits on this Council. But its actions tear up the UN Charter.

Russia sits on this Council. But over the weekend we saw it put forward amendments designed to wreck the UN’s future.

Russia claims to stand for the Global South. But it runs roughshod over international law.

Vladimir Putin, when you fire missiles into Ukraine hospitals. We know who you are.

When you send mercenaries into African countries. We know who you are.

When you murder opponents in European cities. We know who you are.

Your invasion is in your own interests. Yours alone. To expand your mafia state into a mafia empire. An empire built on corruption.

Robbing from the Russian people as well as Ukraine. An empire built on crushing dissent. Courageous opponents like Navalny.

An empire built on lies. Spreading disinformation at home and abroad to sow disorder.

Mr President, I speak not only as a Briton, as a Londoner, and as a Foreign Secretary.

But I say to the Russian representative, on his phone as I speak, that I stand here also as a black man whose ancestors were taken in chains from Africa, at the barrel of a gun to be enslaved, whose ancestors rose up and fought in a great rebellion of the enslaved.

Imperialism. I know it when I see it. And I will call it out for what it is.

In this week, when I’m here talking to other partners around the world about our shared futures, and the future of the UN, Russia is trying to return us to a world of the past.

A world of imperialism. A world of redrawing borders by force. A world without the UN Charter.

We cannot allow this to happen. Ukraine’s fight matters to all of us. The UK will remain Ukraine’s staunchest supporter.

Because Mr. President these are the stakes.

If we let an imperialist redraw borders by force those will not be the last borders to be redrawn.

If we let an imperialist deny a nation its path Ukraine will not be the last state to be subjected. Maduro will take encouragement and go for Guyana next.

So let me be clear. We want peace in Ukraine. We want it for the Ukrainian people.

As President Zelenskyy has said, it must be a peace that respects the fundamental principles that underpin the United Nations.

The principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as enshrined in this UN Charter. The Charter of the United Nations.  Putin’s Russia wants to unravel it. We want to uphold it. And we will.

As President Zelenskyy said, the UN Charter will prevail.

Slava Ukraini!

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. Delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and the UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Commissioners, for your update which as ever is all the more shocking and compelling for its sobriety and precision

As you make clear, Russia continues to commit appalling atrocities against the Ukrainian people.

It’s indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets have intensified dramatically. August and July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in 2024.

Thousands of deported Ukrainian children remain in Russia.  We will not know the exact number or whereabouts of these children until Russia shares this information.

Your update only reinforces the already overwhelming evidence of the systematic and widespread use of torture against Ukrainian detainees, including sexual violence. We have also seen reports of POWs being executed in the most barbaric manner.

Three volunteers from the International Committee of the Red Cross were tragically killed in Donetsk this month.

Soon we will mark two years since Russia’s attempted annexation of four oblasts in eastern Ukraine. Those living under Russian occupation in these regions have endured violence, Russification, and the suppression of their Ukrainian identity.

Russia must be accountable both for specific atrocities and its act of aggression. From the battlefield to the courtroom, the UK stands with Ukraine.

Commissioners, what more can be done to protect communities in Ukraine ahead of a worsening humanitarian situation this Winter, exacerbated by Russia’s ongoing strikes to critical energy infrastructure?

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with group of Independent Experts on Belarus. Delivered at the 57th Human Rights Council in Geneva.

We are deeply concerned by brutal and systematic human rights violations in Belarus.  We condemn ongoing arbitrary arrests and widespread repression.

To mark the fourth anniversary of deeply flawed presidential elections in Belarus, we announced new sanctions on four commanding officers of penal colonies in response to ongoing human rights violations.

In addition, we announced £2.5 million support to Belarusian human rights defenders and civil society.

To the representatives of Belarus: while we welcome the recent release of some political prisoners, we urge you to immediately release the over 1,300 political prisoners who remain detained without reason.

Many face isolation, mistreatment, and a lack of medical care.

Six political prisoners are reported to have died since 2021.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 September 2024.

Mr Robert Tinline has been appointed British High Commissioner to Canada in succession to Ms Susannah Goshko CMG, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment.

Mr Tinline will take up his appointment during February 2025.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Robert Tinline

Year	Role
2022 to present	FCDO, Director Americas
2020 to 2022	FCDO, Director COVID
2017 to 2019	Joint Intelligence Committee, Chief of the Assessments Staff
2015 to 2017	Head of HMG Counter Proliferation and Arms Control Centre
2012 to 2015	UK Representation to the EU, Deputy Head of Mission
2011 to 2012	Madrid, Deputy Head of Mission
2010 to 2011	FCO, Head of Consular Assistance
2008 to 2010	FCO, Head of Near East Department
2007 to 2008	Basra, Deputy Consul General
2005 to 2007	FCO, Press Office
2003 to 2005	FCO, Counter Terrorism Department
1999 to 2002	Bogotá, Second Secretary
1997 to 1998	FCO, Security Policy Department
1997	Joined FCO

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 September 2024.

Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, as delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Madam Vice President.

We regret that due to timetabling problems, the Commissioners could not be here this morning. If they had been, I would have thanked them for their latest report, which clearly highlights the horrific violations and abuses Syrians continue to endure.

Of all the horrors of this conflict, one of the greatest tragedies is of those forcibly detained and missing. As the Commissioners report, over 100,000 Syrians remain missing yet Syrian authorities continue to obstruct families’ efforts to find their loved ones.

The UK firmly supports families, survivors and victims in their quest for the truth. So, we commend efforts to operationalise the Independent Institution on Missing Persons and call for the swift appointment of its Assistant Secretary-General, so that it can help clarify the fate of those missing Syrians and support their long-suffering families.

The Assad regime must address the issue of the missing and cease arbitrary detention. The Syrian people need assurances on their safety and security, if they are ever to return home.

This Council must not, will not, turn its back on the Syrian people, and those responsible for the abuses and violations of human rights must, will be held to account.