Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 May 2023.

The UK recalls the importance of media freedom for democracy and security in the OSCE region.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Ms Ribeiro, welcome back to the Permanent Council and thank you for your continued work to promote and defend media freedom since your last report.

We stand behind your mandate and your work, even as others seek to undermine the OSCE’s standards and commitments to media freedom. We agree with the conclusion in your report that it is indispensable work.

Free media play a vital role in promoting human rights and diversity and equality, including gender justice, as well as enhancing security in our region. Yet, as your report notes, last year we saw a global spike in the number of journalists and media workers who have been killed and in the number who have been imprisoned.

Across the OSCE space, the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on media freedom is evident. Many journalists in Ukraine have been injured. Broadcasting infrastructure has been destroyed. Twelve media workers have been killed while on duty, including Ukrainian producer, Bohan Bitik, who was shot and killed on April 26 while reporting for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, near Kherson. In Crimea, the persecution of dissenting voices, particularly from the Crimean Tatar community, has continued.

In Russia this January, Meduza, one of the most popular Russian-language news portals, was outlawed and declared an “undesirable organization”. In February, journalist Alexander Nevzorov was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment, while RusNews journalist Maria Ponomarenko received a six-year sentence. Telegram channel author Dmitry Ivanov was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, and journalist Andrey Novashov to eight months in a correctional facility.

In Belarus, 33 journalists are currently behind bars. Many more have fled to avoid being detained. Independent media has been systematically purged and dismantled, with extremely harsh sentences handed down. This includes journalist Andrzej Poczobut from the Polish community in Belarus, sentenced to eight years in prison. In March, Maryna Zolatava and Ludmila Chekina, Editor-in-chief and Director General of the largest independent online news portal in Belarus, were sentenced to twelve years.

Such repressive measures reflect a systematic clampdown by the Russian and Belarusian authorities on media freedom.

Yet our OSCE commitments are very clear. Participating States have repeatedly committed themselves to ensuring media freedom as a basic condition for peaceful societies. The 2018 OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on Safety of Journalists, adopted by consensus, is a road map for us all to provide a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and to ensure our laws, policy and practice fully comply with international human rights law and OSCE Commitments. We should all live up to that decision.

The UK calls for all participating States to uphold their commitments on media freedom, and ensure the safety of journalists and media workers. We will continue to work with you to ensure that media freedom remains a cornerstone of democracy, and a prerequisite for security across our region.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 May 2023.

At OSCE Permanent Council UK says the extent of repression and the number of political prisoners in Belarus is staggering.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 May 2023.

The UK delivered a statement during Liechtenstein’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 May 2023.

The United Kingdom says it will not allow Russia’s aggression and brutality to become normalised, as Russia unleashes yet more strikes across Ukraine.

Thank you. Mr Chair, this week many participating States of the OSCE commemorated the anniversary of the end of the Second World War. However, the people of Ukraine were not able to reflect in peace and safety. On Saturday and Sunday, air raid alerts sounded across two thirds of Ukraine. Missile strikes were reported in Kharkiv, Kherson, Nikolaev and Odesa on Monday morning. Civilians were yet again among the casualties, once more paying the price for Russia’s brutal attacks. These strikes hit a Ukrainian Red Cross warehouse in Odesa and a mobile hospital in Mykolaiv. Such callous attacks harm the most vulnerable people in Ukraine, those in greatest need of humanitarian support. Such attacks are particularly inexcusable and repugnant.

It has also been reported that in a separate incident, members of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service were killed by shelling in Kherson. They were engaged in de-mining operations, working selflessly to make the area safer.

Further East, the fields surrounding Bakhmut are grey and cratered after relentless bombing. The city itself has been almost entirely destroyed. Russia has turned this once thriving city into a wasteland.

Mr Chair, on Tuesday, the same day that Russia launched waves of missile strikes at Ukraine’s capital, President Putin marked Victory Day with a speech in which he claimed that a war had been unleashed against Russia. Yet, as all of us in this room know, it was Russia that unleashed an unprovoked and illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is Russia that has bombarded Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure, killing thousands of civilians in the process. It is Ukraine that defends itself, regaining territory and liberating thousands of Ukrainian people.

Despite Russia’s continual assaults, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have held firm. Ukraine’s resilience and bravery, coupled with military, humanitarian and economic support from the UK and other partners, will ensure that they will prevail. We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Since we last met, Mr Chair, the IAEA has warned of the “potentially dangerous” situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Russia’s disregard of international law and its continued military presence has put Ukrainian nuclear facilities at risk. This endangers local populations and the wider region. The responsibility for such danger lies squarely with Russia. This is sovereign Ukrainian territory, and the Plant must be returned to Ukraine’s control to ensure its safe and secure operation. We support all efforts to reduce the risks to the Nuclear Power Plant caused by Russia’s illegal invasion, including the IAEA’s work.

The price that Ukraine’s civilians and infrastructure are paying for Russia’s horrendous attacks must not become normalised. The UK and our partners will continue to work to hold those guilty of atrocities to account. Russia must end its doomed aggression against Ukraine, and cease its shameful attacks on the Ukrainian people. It is Ukraine that fights for the OSCE’s core principles: sovereignty, territorial integrity, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is Russia that is on the wrong side of history.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 May 2023.

The UK delivered a statement during Tunisia’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Thank you, Mr President.

The 2011 revolution secured unprecedented fundamental rights and freedoms for Tunisians. These gains must be protected.

Many rights enshrined in the post-revolution constitution remain in the Constitution that was adopted this year. However, we note with concern an increasing trend of human rights violations. We urge the government to ensure accountability and transparency in investigating excessive use of force by State agents. We encourage diverse representative participation in political life, including women and youth.

A transparent, independent and efficient judiciary and the separation of powers are essential for a functioning democracy that serves its people. We note with concern the recent weakening of judicial independence.

We have three recommendations:

1. Establish an independent National Human Rights Institution, in line with the Paris Principles.
2. Expedite the amendment of the Penal Code and Criminal Procedural Code, in line with international standards.
3. Commit to ending the trial of civilians in military courts.