Tag: James Cleverly

The speech made by James Cleverly, the Minister for Middle East and North Africa, on 8 January 2021.

Mr President, thank you for convening this timely debate. My thanks also to Secretary-General Guterres, Mr Faki and Mrs Johnson Sirleaf for clearly outlining the challenge.

We see, all too often, the devastating impact of conflict on a country and its neighbours. As the war in Syria rages on, over 9 million of its people cannot afford basic food supplies.

More than 6 million – including 2½ million children – are refugees far from home. On either side of the border, COVID-19 has only made their situation more precarious.

This fragility is a key challenge to the peace and security we all desire. By 2030, 80% of the world’s extreme poor will live in fragile states and regions.

While our attention is still on the health impact of COVID-19, we know its social and economic effects will magnify that trend.

We also know that sustainable development and economic growth are just not possible without peace.

Mr President, I want to highlight three key elements to maintain international peace and security: inclusion, partnership and an integrated approach to fragility and security.

To my first point: peace processes are often the domain of a small number of well-connected men. But we know that peace will not last, if half the population aren’t represented at the negotiating table.

Women and community leaders must have a seat from the start. Their meaningful participation can prevent conflict, support conflict resolution and maintain peace.

We need to protect and clear the path for women who speak up for their rights, their communities and their futures.

The UK has supported the International Civil Society Action Network to develop the Protection Framework for women peacebuilders.

As the Council’s penholder on the Women, Peace and Security agenda, we urge all member states to commit to its recommendations.

To my second point, the UN and African Union are stronger together as partners for peacebuilding.

The collaboration that delivered the Central African Republic peace agreement, and AU mediation in Sudan are just two examples of how our partnership promotes peace.

I commend the progress made by the African Union on Silencing the Guns, bolstering the African Peace and Security Architecture, the Panel of the Wise and FemWise.

Through the UN, the UK is helping train African peacekeepers, and we recently deployed 300 military personnel to MINUSMA.

I also welcome the recent extraordinary meeting of IGAD heads of state to discuss regional security concerns. However, resolution will come not only with discussion, but with difficult choices and action.

Thirdly, I want to state the importance of an integrated approach to prevent conflict. The recent Twin Resolutions on Sustaining Peace show the international community’s determination to address the causes before the guns start firing.

We have mechanisms to help us, like the African Union’s Continental Early Warning System, which the UK supports.

Effective interventions need to span humanitarian, development and peacebuilding operations. The UK worked with the OECD to develop the Recommendation on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus, which will guide future interventions.

It is also important that the UN and International Financial Institutions continue developing their working partnership. We welcome the cooperation between the UN, World Bank, EU and Government of Burkina Faso that helped unlock $700 million of World Bank funding.

To sum up, the challenges to maintaining peace continue to grow and the costs of excluding women and failing to think holistically become ever more apparent.

But there is light. The UN has taken positive steps in its ability to maintain peace in fragile settings, including the Secretary-General’s reform agenda.

The UN’s capacity to prevent and respond to conflict has been bolstered through the Peacebuilding Fund, the Multi-year Appeal and the Peace and Development Advisors.

The Peacebuilding Commission is now a critical forum for international cooperation on fragile states and regions.

Crucially, we better understand the importance of inclusive peace-making and peacebuilding. We know we are more effective when we work with regional partners on complex challenges. And we know the value of tackling the drivers of conflict before a shot is fired.

In an evolving world, as we continue to adapt, our partnerships are our strength, inclusion is our security, and the prize is peace.

Comments made by James Cleverly, the UK Minister for the Middle East, on 27 July 2020.

I was deeply impressed by the passion and drive of the Lebanese people I met. I am confident that this country can have a bright future, but it must take urgent and drastic action now to avoid economic catastrophe.

The UK is helping to tackle coronavirus in the country, which in turn will help stop future waves of the disease. This pandemic has already caused the death of so many around the world, but together we can stop it. No one is safe until we are all safe.

Below is the text of the statement made by James Cleverly, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, in the House of Commons on 9 July 2020.

The UK and Bahrain continue to have a close and important relationship. We benefit from an ongoing, open and genuine dialogue in which we work together on mutually beneficial issues while also raising points of significant difference with one another.

It is because of this long-standing partnership that we are able to have candid conversations about matters of importance to the UK—in particular, our human rights concerns. Our relationship allows us to raise sensitive and difficult issues, both privately and publicly, in a constructive manner in order to uphold our moral responsibility on human rights issues. We have raised and will continue to raise the cases both of Mohammed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain.

On 8 January, British embassy Manama officials attended the final session of the Court of Appeal for the retrial of the two men mentioned. Both individuals were convicted of terrorist charges and given the death sentence again. On 8 January, the former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), publicly stated our deep concern that death sentences were again handed out, and the UK’s position has not changed on this matter. We continue to actively monitor these two cases as they are taken to the court of cassation for final review.

The UK’s position on the use of the death penalty is long-standing and unequivocal: we oppose its use in all circumstances and in all countries as a matter of principle. The Government of Bahrain are fully aware of our view. This was made explicitly clear by the former Minister to a senior Bahraini counterpart last year. It was then reinforced by my noble friend Lord Ahmad in the other place, who issued a public statement expressing the UK’s opposition to the use of the death penalty, in response to actions taken in Bahrain.

I can assure the House that our efforts to raise these cases, and also the broader issues of the use of capital punishment, with the Bahraini authorities will continue. Bahrain is a Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights priority country, in part due to its policy surrounding the death penalty. We continue to monitor developments on all matters that relate to human rights within the country. We remain absolutely committed to the promotion of universal freedoms and upholding human rights globally. That has been made clear only this week with the introduction of the UK’s first autonomous human rights sanctions regime.