Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 21 September 2024.

Statement by the Governments of Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States on the announcement by South Sudan’s leaders of an extension of the country’s transitional period.

The Governments of Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States note with deep concern the announcement by South Sudan’s leaders of an extension of the country’s transitional period by two years.

This announcement demonstrates the persistent and collective failure of South Sudan’s leaders to create the conditions necessary to hold credible and peaceful elections in accordance with an established, publicly agreed-upon timeline.  Responsibility for this failure is shared by all parties in the transitional government.  As South Sudan’s leaders vie for power and fail to organise credible and peaceful elections, the people of South Sudan suffer the consequences. Millions face acute food insecurity year after year.

We acknowledge that elections cannot be credibly held as scheduled in December. This is because of South Sudanese leadership failures and lack of political will. Nevertheless, we cannot in good conscience endorse the extension of a status quo that prioritises the privileges of the elite over the welfare of the South Sudanese people.

We call on the transitional government to act with urgency to demonstrably create the conditions necessary for credible and peaceful elections. This includes expanded political and civic space to enable citizens to express their views without fear or repercussions, politically neutral security forces, funded and operationalized electoral institutions, and leaders’ public commitment to dialogue and the rejection of violence as a tool for political competition.

We urge South Sudan’s leaders to work toward sustainable peace, in particular through the Tumaini Initiative in Nairobi and broad-based leadership-level dialogue in Juba. It is also essential that the voices of women and youth are heard.

The Troika remains committed to the people of South Sudan in their journey towards a democratic future free from conflict.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 September 2024.

Statement by Fergus Eckersley, Minister Counsellor, at the Security Council meeting on Syria.

First, the United Kingdom is gravely concerned by ongoing conflict and devastation within Syria and the risks this presents for the stability of the entire region. It must not be forgotten.

The regime and its backers continue to exploit this instability for their own gain. In a single attack last week, regime forces injured three innocent children in eastern Aleppo. And since we heard a lot from our Russian colleagues about the west today, let me also say that this month marks nine years since the start of Russia’s military intervention in Syria.

Since then, Russia has continued to defend and support the perpetrators of terrible attacks against the Syrian people.

And President, that violence across Syria continues unabated. This summer has also witnessed a concerning increase in Daesh attacks across Syria, made possible by the ongoing instability of a country locked in a cycle of conflict, with no resolution in sight.

The United Kingdom is dedicated to countering Daesh’s resurgence as a core member of the Global Coalition. We stand for the safety and freedom of the Syrian people.

Second, as we usher in the start of a new academic year, thousands of Syrian children are living in active conflict without access to education, a basic human right. Over 2 million children are out of school, and 1.6 million more are at risk of dropping out.

These children are the future of Syria and they deserve access to an equitable education system. This is why the United Kingdom is supporting over 200 schools across North West Syria, through our flagship Syria Education Programme.

Third, despite the tireless efforts of the UN Special Envoy, the Constitutional Committee has not met since the Assad regime and its backers blocked the meetings in Geneva. The regime has stifled progress towards a sustainable and lasting resolution to this conflict and chosen instead a path that prolongs the suffering of millions.

We urgently need a political solution to bring stability to Syria and to the region. In this regard, the UK fully endorses the Special Envoy’s efforts to implement UNSCR 2254.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 September 2024.

Statement by Australia, the UK and the US to the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference on IAEA safeguards and AUKUS.

Thank you, President.

I have the honour of speaking on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

President,

I refer colleagues to the General Conference document 68/19 circulated on 11 September which reiterated our concerns regarding the addition of this political agenda item by one Member State. Australia, the United Kingdom and United States do not support the inclusion of this agenda item. We understand from our extensive consultations that the majority of IAEA Member States are of a similar view.

Under this agenda item, both here and at the Board of Governors, we continue to hear statements casting doubt on the Agency’s mandate and the established legal framework – statements targeted specifically at the Agency’s bilateral engagement with Australia. While the tone has varied, the substance has remained the same. Attempts have been made to call into question the Secretariat’s technical mandate, the established legal framework, and the Director General’s clear statements on the topic. This is regrettable.

President,

We recognise that there are genuine questions among Member States regarding naval nuclear propulsion in Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement states. That is why we have engaged in good faith with all Member States, consistent with our commitment to openness and transparency. In this regard, Australia provided an update through its national statement on our program to acquire naval nuclear propulsion technology at this Conference during the General Debate – as we did last year and the year before that. We have also provided updates at each regular Board meeting since the AUKUS partnership was first announced in September 2021.

As AUKUS partners have previously said, Australia is working with the IAEA to develop a safeguards and verification approach for its program that sets the highest non‑proliferation standard, including an Article 14 arrangement under Australia’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. This will not involve a template, or a prescriptive ‘one size fits all’ approach. Given state specific variations between naval nuclear propulsion programs, such an approach would not be effective. We are committed to an approach that will enable the Agency to meet its technical safeguards objectives for Australia at all times. This is important technical work that is entirely within the Agency’s mandate – as the Director General has confirmed.

It will clearly take time to develop this approach, and detailed technical discussions in the Board would be premature at this stage. But the Director General has been clear that, in due course, the Article 14 arrangement will come to the Board of Governors for appropriate action, and we fully support this approach. At that time, we expect, and intend, for the Board to consider it on its non-proliferation merits.

President,

I regret that we have heard disinformation from one country about the AUKUS Agreement for Cooperation Related to Naval Nuclear Propulsion, which was signed by our three countries on 5 August 2024 and has subsequently been submitted to our respective legislatures for consideration. The Agreement reaffirms the AUKUS partners’ respective non-proliferation obligations, including under the NPT and Australia’s obligations under the Treaty of Rarotonga, the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, and its CSA and Additional Protocol. It obliges the parties to ensure that Australia can provide the Agency with information and access necessary to fulfil Australia’s safeguards obligations to the IAEA, while also ensuring protection of sensitive information. Importantly, under the Agreement the US and the UK cannot transfer any nuclear material to Australia for use in naval nuclear propulsion prior to Australia having an Article 14 arrangement in place with the IAEA.

Our time here is valuable and so this is not the appropriate forum to rebut all the disinformation we have heard point by point. I instead refer delegations to the Agreement’s publicly available text, the statement made by the Director General on 15 August which notes the key non-proliferation relevant features of the Agreement, and to the AUKUS update I provided to the Board of Governors last week under Any Other Business.

President,

The Director General has made it clear that he will continue to keep Member States informed on developments in his engagement on naval nuclear propulsion programs. He did so in June 2023, in reports to the Board of Governors on the two countries with naval nuclear propulsion programs currently underway. He also did so in the Safeguards Implementation Report for 2023. And he has made clear he will provide further reporting, when appropriate.

As AUKUS partners have made clear, we welcome the Director General’s reporting on Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion program and will continue to support the Director General’s judgement as to when to report on naval nuclear propulsion programs. Technically focussed discussions on such programs in the Board, under agenda items proposed by the Director General and guided by his assessments, accord with the Agency’s character as a technical organisation. It is this approach that will uphold the Agency’s independent, impartial and technical role in safeguards implementation. This is of great importance to every Member State, and something we should all strive to protect.

President,

Once again, I would like to express our regret for needing to intervene at this point, under this agenda item. But it is important that we express our views for the record.

Thank you, President.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 20 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development. Delivered at the 57th HRC in Geneva.

Thank you Mr President.

First let me thank the Special Rapporteur for his report. As we approach the Summit of the Future, the theme, on children and future generations, is timely.

The Right to Development places the focus on States to ensure individuals, including children, can enjoy human rights, have equal opportunity to fulfil their potential and participate in development processes. In our experience, children are willing and able to take ownership of issues that affect their rights. States must continue to encourage and foster this, ensuring that young voices are heard on issues that affect their future.

However, in response to some of the assertions in the Special Rapporteur’s report, the United Kingdom is firmly of the view that human rights are held by those individuals who are alive and these rights cannot be given to future generations or ‘organisms’.

The UK government has made efforts to involve young people as part of our international development efforts including by consulting with the Youth Council on Global Education, a youth board made up of young people aged 16-25 representing civil society organisations to ensure our programming includes a youth perspective.

Do you have any examples of best practice in ensuring active and meaningful participation of children in policymaking?