Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 December 2023.

UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, responds to North Korea missile tests.

The UK condemns the latest launches of an Intercontinental ballistic missile on 18 December and a short range ballistic missile on 17 December by North Korea; these actions clearly breach multiple UN Security Resolutions.

This repeated escalation of testing is deeply damaging for regional stability and further destabilises the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.

The UK strongly urges North Korea to refrain from illegal launches, return to dialogue swiftly and to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 December 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Iran.

Thank you, President. Let me thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo and the wider UN Secretariat for their support in the implementation of resolution 2231. I also thank Ambassador Olof Skoog for his briefing and Ambassador Frazier for her briefing and work as facilitator.

President, since refusing the opportunity to restore the JCPoA through the deals tabled in 2022, Iran has continued to escalate its nuclear programme. Transition Day has now passed and the UK & EU have maintained proliferation-related sanctions on Iran, in accordance with the JCPoA’s Dispute Resolution Mechanism. The UK is fully committed to using all diplomatic tools to prevent Iran from delivering a nuclear weapon.

The IAEA reports that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is 22 times over JCPoA limits. It manufactures and operates thousands of prohibited advanced centrifuges, gaining irreversible knowledge which the JCPoA sought to prevent. Iran continues producing highly enriched uranium, for which there is no credible civilian justification, calling into question the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Additionally, Iran is launching missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear weapons and is testing technologies directly applicable to medium and long-range ballistic missiles, in the form of satellite launch vehicles.

President, Iran’s missile programme remains of fundamental concern for nuclear non-proliferation.

The Secretary-General has acknowledged evidence showing that, during the period of restrictions under this resolution, Iran developed and exported missiles without seeking the Council’s authorisation. Iran supplied ballistic missiles to armed groups in Iraq, Yemen and Syria, which are targeting Red Sea shipping and Coalition personnel in the region. And as USG DiCarlo said, the UK has also provided evidence that Iran supplied UAVs to Russia. These UAVs have subsequently been used to attack civilians in Ukraine. All such transfers were in violation of resolution 2231.

Resolution 2231’s restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile activities may have been lifted, but the Council must continue to hold Iran to account for its proliferation activities by this or any other resolution.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 December 2023.

Joint statement by UK, France and Germany following the Security Council meeting on the implementation of resolution 2231.

Today, the Security Council discussed the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, particularly Iran’s nuclear activity, missile development and continued weapons proliferation inconsistent with that resolution.

In November, the IAEA Director General yet again issued a report which starkly outlines the deplorable state of Iran’s commitments under the JCPoA.

The IAEA reports that the total stockpiles of Iran’s enriched uranium now stand at 22 times the JCPoA limit. Iran’s stockpiles of high enriched uranium up to 60% are unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons programme.

Iran has been in violation of its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA, which is endorsed by resolution 2231, for more than four years. There is no credible civilian justification for the state of Iran’s nuclear programme. The current trajectory only brings Iran closer to weapons-related capabilities; this is of utmost concern for international peace and security.

Iran’s ongoing lack of cooperation with the IAEA prevents the IAEA from carrying out vital work to determine the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme and undermines the global non-proliferation architecture. Iran’s agreements with the IAEA and its legal obligations must be pursued in full, without further delay, as repeatedly requested by the Director General. It is especially concerning to see Iran flatly deny to the IAEA its legal obligation to implement Modified Code 3.1. All these actions undermine the case that Iran’s nuclear programme is of an exclusively peaceful nature as well as any confidence the international community has in its wider commitments and obligations.

We welcome the Secretary General’s recognition of the UK’s evidence exposing Iran’s proliferation of missiles and missile technologies to non-state actors in the region and beyond, which endanger the region and the whole international community, and were carried out in violation of resolution 2231.

Furthermore, while restricted by this resolution, Iran transferred hundreds of UAVs to Russia, deliberately supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Deliveries took place in the knowledge that Russia uses them to target Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. Neither Russia nor Iran have ever sought authorisation for these transfers, which are therefore a breach of resolution 2231 by both states. We continue to urge Iran to cease its reckless proliferative activities in the region and beyond.

Iran has developed and tested ballistic missiles and related technologies extensively in complete disregard for this resolution, undermining global non-proliferation principles and architecture. This requires particular scrutiny as resolution 2231 restrictions on Iran’s missile programme were automatically lifted on 18 October, despite Iran having consistently ignored these restrictions.

Today we must reflect on Iran’s continued and long-lasting contempt for United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and its restrictions. We remain determined that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon and must reverse its nuclear escalation. We emphasise once again our determination to find a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, as demonstrated by our consistent efforts in that regard.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 December 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Libya.

We welcome the SRSG’s efforts to convene representatives of the five major stakeholders in a preparatory meeting as a next step towards resolving the outstanding issues related to elections.

We note, however, that only three of the five invited parties – the High State Council, Government of National Unity, and Presidential Council – have so far nominated representatives, with others setting preconditions for their participation.

The SRSG has been clear that the preparatory meeting will provide space for all parties to express their concerns. We therefore reiterate our expectation that Libya’s leaders respond to the SRSG’s invitation constructively. We call on all parties to engage in good faith without preconditions. To do otherwise prevents progress towards the elections that 2.8 million Libyans have registered for.

President, we remain concerned at the shrinking space for civil society across Libya, alongside the alarming trend of human rights violations, particularly in regard to migrants and refugees, that continue without accountability.

Civic space must be protected to allow Libyans to hold their leaders accountable and empower everyone to play a role in developing an open, democratic society with freedom of association, operation and assembly. We also regret the tragic incident of 61 migrants who drowned following the shipwreck off Libya this weekend.

As Libya begins reconstruction in response to the devastating floods in September, it remains vital that this is funded through a unified Libyan approach, with full transparency, effective oversight, and accountability. Libyan public funds must be used for the benefit of all Libyans, with the Libyan people having a voice in how public money is spent.

President, the benefits of setting Libya on the path towards a democratic, united, and stable state would be enormous. It would allow the full reintegration of Libya’s people and economy into the international community.

We urge those invited to the preparatory meeting of the major stakeholders to fully engage in order to fulfil their responsibilities to the Libyan people. The UK will continue to support the SRSG and work across Libya’s divides to deliver for the Libyan people.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 December 2023.

Statement delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley, at the UDHR commemoration event in Geneva.

Thank you, Deputy High Commissioner.

The United Kingdom is delighted to have submitted five pledges.

First, to support the vital work of Human Rights Defenders, through funding their work, monitoring their cases and raising concerns with other governments.

Second, to advance equality by increasing our support to LGBT organisations, to persons with disabilities, and to women and girls through bilateral aid.

Third, to prioritise the right to freedom of religion or belief and to strengthen international coalitions seeking to uphold this right.

Fourth, we will support survivor-led organisations and civil society working to end modern slavery in our funding to international programmes.

And fifth, we will work towards raising the standards of public and private security organisations through greater adherence to voluntary standards.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 December 2023.

UK Ambassador to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley, spoke on a number of issues, including fisheries, at the Trade Negotiations Committee on 12 December 2023.

Thank you very much Chair.

Let me start, first of all, by offering a very warm welcome to our new Deputy Director General Johanna Hill. It is fantastic to have you here.

Let me also just take a moment to thank you DG, GC Chair and the Chairs of our various negotiating committees.

I think if we needed any confirmation of how tough all your jobs are it would be listening to today’s discussion, and to some of the discussions over previous weeks.

You deserve our support. You certainly have our support for the tough job that you’ve got over the days and weeks to come.

You said yourself, DG, that we’ve got a long way to go to ensure that MC13 is a success. We also have remarkably little time once we actually start looking at the calendar of the days and weeks ahead of us. So, this week is important.

Let me just touch briefly on some of the issues that we have to sort out over the next few weeks.

Dispute settlement – clearly an absolutely essential issue for this organisation if we are to prove our worth. Let me commend the work others have done. Our facilitator, Marco Molina, he’s doing a great job.

As our colleagues meet at COP28, let me congratulate you again DG and your colleagues, not only from the WTO but also from the ITC, UNCTAD and the ICC on the very first COP Trade Day. The Trade House is so important in defining what this organisation and our partner organisations can do to enable us to make that transition to net zero.

Let me stress the importance once again of doing what we can here on fisheries over the weeks to come to ensure that we can curb harmful subsidies to help restore global fish stocks and to help ensure that there is a sustainable future for our fishing communities. As you hinted Chair, tomorrow we bring you the instrument of ratification in the safe hands of my Minister of Development, the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP.

On agriculture, DG, you have asked us to be honest, and it is not looking good but we do have substantive proposals on the table for the first time in a long time including, I might say, one from the UK on export restrictions.

So we very much welcome an effort to intensify our discussions over the next few weeks. We agree that we should have a Head of Delegation level discussions to try and push that forward.

We offer our 101% support to the CoA-SS Chair and sorry to hear what he feels he has suffered over recent days and weeks.

On development, I think we should be proud of what we have achieved over the last few weeks. Whether than be on LDG Graduation or IFD. There is important work that we have still got to do to make sure that we have a genuinely impressive development package for MC 13. We welcome the submission of further G90 papers and the process that our distinguished CTG Chair is leading on.

At this Ministerial, which is so soon upon us, we do need to look to the future. We do need to ensure that this organisation is responding to the biggest trading challenges that we have today.

We cannot hide from those challenges; we cannot pretend that they do not exist. We share your disappointment, DG, that we are not further ahead on Services, an area of such extraordinary potential for the global economy, for both developed and developing nations.

It is also clear from our discussions from the SOM that there is appetite here in this organisation for a dedicated industrial policy forum. We think that will be a key outcome from the Ministerial and we support the efforts of the GC Chair to help us elucidate an outcome document that is going to set out what it is we are going to do post MC13.

One thing we do not have to wait for MC13 to do is to renew the E-commerce moratorium. This is something we should be doing this very week, in the General Council.

We want to welcome the ACP Group’s recent communication. We now have over 100 members of this organisation calling for an extension and we look forward to getting it done this week.

Before MC12, DG, you may recall that we said Geneva needed to become the city that never sleeps. We do need to make sure that we are back here in January with determination and the spirit of collaboration and responsible consensus so as to ensure that MC 13 builds on the success of MC 12, and show this organisation, and the global trading system, that we are back in business and backing business.

Thank you.