Tag: Liz Truss

The joint statement issued by the UK, the United States, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, on 8 January 2022.

The Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America) welcome the announcement that the UN Interim Transition Assistance Mission to Sudan is facilitating discussions to resolve Sudan’s political crisis.

We strongly support this UN-facilitated, Sudanese-led dialogue initiative. We urge all Sudanese political actors to seize this opportunity to restore the country’s transition to civilian democracy, in line with the 2019 Constitutional Declaration. We look forward to this being a results–oriented process that will guide the country towards democratic elections, in line with the Sudanese people’s manifest aspirations for freedom, democracy, peace, justice and prosperity.

The joint statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, along with the US, Australia, Canada and the European Union, on 1 January 2022.

We deplore the decisions by 2 Russian courts to forcibly close International Memorial and the Memorial Human Rights Center. For more than 3 decades, Memorial has fulfilled a unique role in documenting historical crimes and recovering for posterity the memory of the tens of millions of victims of political repression in the country.

Memorial has also advocated tirelessly for the protection of human rights in Russia, exposing appalling abuses, including in the North Caucasus, and maintaining a growing list of individuals it considers to be political prisoners. The claim by Russian authorities that Memorial Human Rights Center’s principled and peaceful work ‘justifies extremism and terrorism’ cannot be accepted. Memorial’s work has never been more needed.

The unconscionable decision to silence Memorial follows many months of deepening and systematic repression in Russia against human rights defenders, independent media and journalists, political opposition members and critical voices, as well as religious minority groups and other marginalised groups. This further harms Russia’s international reputation, as respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law constitutes one of the foundations of the rules-based international order.

We call on Russia to uphold its international human rights obligations and commitments and we continue to condemn the Russian legislation on ‘foreign agents’, which further silences independent voices and shrinks the space for civil society. The people of Russia, like people everywhere, have the right to freedom of expression and association, including in defence of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 13 December 2021.

On International Human Rights Day, 10 December, the UK announced a further tranche of sanctions in response to the military coup in Myanmar under the Myanmar (Sanctions) Regulations 2021. Asset freezes have been imposed on four Myanmar entities responsible for manufacturing or procuring arms and equipment and providing support and finance to the Myanmar military, which has continued to undermine democracy and violate the fundamental rights of the civilian population. The UK is committed to preventing the flow of arms to Myanmar and will continue to use sanctions and diplomatic pressure to this end.

In parallel, the UK imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on one individual under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 for serious human rights abuses in Pakistan. The designation of a former Lashkar-e-Jhangvi commander who facilitated the 2017 bombing of the Lai Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which killed at least 70 people, sends a strong message that the UK will use all tools at our disposal to defend freedom of religion and belief.

The UK announced the designations during the US-hosted summit for democracy, as part of our commitment to continue to use our targeted sanctions to defend human rights as well as counter serious corruption globally.

The full list of designations is below:

Under the Myanmar Sanctions Regulations 2021

Myanmar

The Quarter Master General’s Office.

The Directorate for Defence Industries, a state-owned enterprise.

The Department for Defence Procurement.

The Myanmar War Veterans Organisation, a quasi-reserve force for the Myanmar military Under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

Pakistan

Furqan Bangalzai; a former commander in the terror organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

The comments made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 11 December 2021.

This weekend the world’s most influential democracies will take a stand against aggressors who seek to undermine liberty and send a clear message that we are a united front.

I want G7 countries to deepen ties in areas like trade, investment, technology and security so we can defend and advance freedom and democracy across the world. I will be pushing that point over the next few days.

The statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 6 December 2021.

The sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi is another appalling attempt by Myanmar’s military regime to stifle opposition and suppress freedom and democracy.

The United Kingdom calls on the regime to release political prisoners, engage in dialogue and allow a return to democracy. The arbitrary detention of elected politicians only risks further unrest.

The statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 23 November 2021.

Today the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will release files covering the events surrounding British Airways flight 149 (BA149) to the National Archives. BA149 landed at Kuwait City on 2 August 1990 as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was beginning. The passengers and crew from the flight were subsequently held hostage by Iraq and mistreated. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provided consular and diplomatic support to those involved from the outset, but there have long been questions about how much the Government knew of the situation at the time.

We now know that Iraq was beginning a full invasion of Kuwait on the night of 1 to 2 August. The files being released today describe how things looked to those involved at the time.

On 1 August the British Embassy in Kuwait told the local British Airways office that while flights on 1 August should be safe, subsequent flights were inadvisable. BA149 took off from London at 18:04 GMT on 1 August, almost two hours later than scheduled because of technical problems. Its ultimate destination was Kuala Lumpur with a short stopover in Kuwait. At about 22:15 GMT, during its flight towards Kuwait, the captain spoke to the captain of another flight which had left Kuwait for London that evening. The pilot of that flight reported nothing unusual in Kuwait and no reason for BA149 to depart from its planned route.

The files show that the British ambassador in Kuwait informed the Resident Clerk—the officer on overnight duty to deal with emergencies—at the FCO in London about reports of an Iraqi incursion into Kuwait around 00:00 GMT on 2 August 1990, while the British Airways flight was en route. The information was passed by the Resident Clerk to the Head of the FCO’s Middle East Department and also to No. 10, the Ministry of Defence, the Cabinet Office and the Secret Intelligence Service, but not to British Airways.

BA149 landed at Kuwait City at 01:13 GMT. Around 45 minutes later Kuwait City airport was closed and BA149 was unable to leave. Its passengers and crew were subsequently held hostage by the Iraqis, with the last hostages released in December 1990.

The Government have always condemned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the suffering that followed and the mistreatment of those aboard BA149. The responsibility for these events and the mistreatment of those passengers and crew lies entirely with the Government of Iraq at the time.

The files show that in the call to the Resident Clerk, the British ambassador in Kuwait was unclear whether the Iraqi move across the border was a limited or larger incursion. At that point, the evidence in the files suggests that it was not possible to say with certainty what was happening. Similarly, the Resident Clerk in the FCO would have had no knowledge of the timing of flights into Kuwait. At the time there appeared to have been no formal arrangements by which information about such events could be passed from the FCO to airlines or the Department of Transport. A procedure to deal with situations like this now exists involving Government and the airline industry.

There was also speculation at the time and since that the flight was used to carry members of UK Special Forces. The files are consistent with the then Minister for Europe’s statement in April 2007 that

“the Government at the time did not attempt in any way to exploit the flight by any means whatever.”—[Official Report, 27 April 2007; Vol. 459, c. 1217.]

The call made by Her Majesty’s ambassador to Kuwait has never been publicly disclosed or acknowledged until today. These files show that the existence of the call was not revealed to Parliament and the public. This failure was unacceptable. As the current Secretary of State, I apologise to the House for this, and I express my deepest sympathy to those who were detained and mistreated.

The article published by the Sunday Telegraph on 14 November 2021 and issued as a press release by the Government.

We believe in freedom and democracy. Freedom loving societies are not just the best places to live, they are the most successful.

When the Berlin Wall fell and the Iron Curtain came crashing down three decades ago, renewed democracies were established across Eastern Europe. People have become freer, living better lives and their children have better futures. But these hard-won gains are now at risk with malign, autocratic regimes seeking to take away people’s freedom.

Look at what’s happening in Belarus. The escalating standoff at the Polish border marks the latest step by the Lukashenko regime to undermine regional security. He is using desperate migrants as pawns in his bid to create instability and cling onto power, regardless of the human cost.

The United Kingdom will not look away. We will stand with our allies in the region, who are on the frontier of freedom. That’s why we are proud to be the first European country to assist Poland by agreeing to send a small team of personnel to provide engineering support to ease pressure at the border.

In the same way, we were the first European country to put sanctions on the Lukashenko regime, targeting over 100 individuals and organisations with measures including asset freezes and travel bans. This shows we are ready to take the lead in standing up for freedom and democracy, acting robustly, decisively and relentlessly to take on malign actors wherever they are in the world.

We are not just standing side by side with Poland as they bear the brunt of this shameful manufactured migrant crisis, but also others in the Visegrad Four – Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – and our friends in the Baltics and Ukraine.

In Belarus, this carefully crafted crisis is an attempt to divert attention away from the litany of abhorrent acts and human rights violations that the regime has already committed. Since the fraudulent election in August 2020 we have seen members of the opposition, journalists and activists beaten, jailed and killed, while others have been forced into exile.

In contrast to their tyrannical leaders, the people of Belarus are true democrats. Time and again we have seen ordinary citizens risking everything to stand up for their rights and keep the flame of freedom alive. As the chair of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, Andrei Bastunets, said: “Today, the law does not defend us. Today, we defend the law.”

Russia has a clear responsibility here. They must press the Belarusian authorities to end the crisis and enter into dialogue.

We need to fight for the rule of law, freedom and democracy, and we must take that fight to the where that ideological battle is. Security is no longer solely about military hardware. The battle is now taking place in cyber space, the economy, and in the appalling use of people as collateral.

We will join forces with our partners to advance our shared interests. At the NATO foreign ministers’ summit in Riga in a few weeks’ time, we will put forward new proposals to challenge the 21st century methods of aggression being used by those who threaten our freedoms, economies and democracies.

The world is changing and modern threats are more multifaceted and complex. That idea lies at the heart of the Integrated Review of security, defence, development and foreign policy the government published earlier this year. We need to work with allies who believe we must have a world where freedom loving democracies don’t just survive – they thrive.

That is why we remain the largest European spender on defence in NATO – the world’s greatest defence alliance. It is why we are working with friends and allies in South East Asia where we are deepening our defence, maritime and security ties. This week in Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, I agreed new ties in cyber. I also visited Thailand and Malaysia, where our cooperation includes the Five Power Defence Arrangements. We are also increasing our defence collaboration with India, Israel and many others around the world. Through AUKUS we are collaborating with the US and Australia on the next generation of technologies.

I want our friends across Europe to join us. That means standing together for example in opposing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. It risks undermining European security by allowing Russia to tighten its grip on those nations who rely on its gas, despite the pandemic reminding us about the importance of having diverse supply chains to avoid being strategically dependent on unreliable partners.

At this critical time, we should be deepening our investment and trade ties with counties that follow the rules and allow free market economies to thrive. We cannot, and will not, ever give succour to those who want to undermine freedom and democracy.

Together with our friends and allies, we can build a network of liberty, working to repel these malign actors to ensure freedom loving people can live in peace.

The comments made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 11 November 2021.

Deeper ties with Indonesia – as the world’s fourth largest country in terms of population and a present and future economic powerhouse – will help secure a successful future for Britain and deliver for our people.

Our current relationship is under-powered and I want to deepen it in key areas like tech, trade, investment and security as part of plan to build a network of liberty with key partners.

The statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 7 November 2021.

We condemn the attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi that took place in Baghdad last night. We are relieved that the Prime Minister is safe and well, but our thoughts are with those injured as a result of the incident. We stand with the Iraqi government, security forces and people in their rejection of political violence and strongly support the Prime Minister’s call for calm and restraint.