Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 June 2026.

Joint Statement by the Foreign Minister of Australia and the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom on Technology Facilitated Gender-Based Violence.

We, the Foreign Minister of Australia and Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, reaffirm our shared commitment to end all forms of gender-based violence. Protecting against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment – including in development, humanitarian and peacekeeping contexts – is a cornerstone of our foreign policy.

Gender-based violence remains a pervasive human rights abuse, experienced by one in three women globally. This widespread violence has profound social and economic costs, estimated at around USD1.5 trillion – two per cent of global GDP – each year.

As digital technologies reshape our societies, these harms are being replicated and amplified online. Men and boys are increasingly engaging with misogynistic content that normalises and promotes gender-based violence.

Technology‑facilitated gender‑based violence is a national security threat. It is increasingly linked to the exploitation of online spaces to spread harmful norms, coordinate abuse, and undermine democratic institutions and women’s social, political and economic participation and gender equality gains. These actions present risks to social cohesion and national security.

In response, Australia and the United Kingdom are intensifying our efforts to ensure that all women and girls are safe from gender-based violence, and to ensure that perpetrators – online and offline – are held to account. In May, the United Kingdom and Australia came together to launch a new International Coalition to End Violence against Women and Girls, in partnership with six other countries to drive sustained attention and action at national, regional and international levels.

Two years on from signing the Australia-UK Memorandum of Understanding to Collaborate on Ending Gender-based Violence, together, we reaffirm our commitment to its full implementation, including through:

• Prevention and addressing the root causes of violence, including through evidence-based action to challenge harmful norms, behaviours and systems that enable violence against women and girls in all contexts.
• Holding perpetrators to account and supporting victim-survivors, including strengthening justice responses, improving access to services, and ensuring survivor-centred approaches across both offline and online settings.
• Coordinated international advocacy to drive a more concerted collective response, including through joint leadership in multilateral fora and initiatives such as the International Coalition to End Violence against Women, the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse, and the upcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Summit, to mobilise greater ambition, alignment and accountability.

Together, we will also strengthen our collaboration on online safety, working to drive renewed international momentum to address the online and technology-facilitated abuse of women and children. This includes addressing some of the most prevalent and fast-growing harms such as non-consensual intimate image abuse, which is increasingly facilitated by generative AI. We will work with partners to align standards, promote safety-by-design and scale proven solutions. Practical actions include piloting and securing endorsements for the Preliminary Model National Framework for Non-Consensual Intimate Images (NCII), working together through the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse, and launching a new round of the Tech Safety Showcase in partnership with UNFPA.

These efforts align with and advance the objectives of the 2024 Australia-UK Memorandum of Understanding on Online Safety and Security and reinforce our shared commitment to a safer digital environment for all.

Australia and the United Kingdom remain deeply committed to working together – across both foreign and domestic policy – to ensure all women and girls can live free from gender-based violence.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 June 2026.

Deputy Ambassador James Ford welcomes the OSCE Programme Office in Astana’s report and commends its practical support to Kazakhstan across security, governance and economic and environmental dimensions, highlighting the need for impact, sustainability and alignment with OSCE commitments amid constrained resources.

Thank you Chair and thank you, Ambassador, for your report. Thank you also to you and your team for your support and hospitality to my Ambassador during his recent visit to Astana, where he saw first-hand the work you are doing across all three dimensions of security.

The UK supports this balanced approach in many of the areas noted in your report. I won’t list them all here, but they stretch from judicial reform, to the fight against human trafficking, to regional cooperation on environmental issues and water governance.

The Office’s range of work reflects the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security and evidently delivers tangible benefits for Kazakhstan and the wider region.

Ambassador, the UK supports your Office’s practical assistance to Kazakhstan, including the work on borders, cybercrime, our shared Vienna Document commitments, and security sector reform.

We also welcome the Office’s partnership with your hosts on democratic governance, human rights and the rule of law.

We remain a strong supporter of your mandate. As with all field missions we encourage continued focus on impact, sustainability and close alignment with OSCE commitments, particularly in a constrained resource environment. We reiterate our thanks to the Swiss Chairpersonship for beginning the discussion about the future of field missions throughout the network. We look forward to further substantive discussions on this matter over the coming months.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 June 2026.

Ambassador Holland underlines the growing gap between Russia’s rhetoric and actions, highlighting intensified attacks and rising civilian casualties. Ukraine has demonstrated its readiness for peace, while Russia continues to obstruct and undermine the path towards a just and lasting settlement.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

We continue to hear claims from Russia that it is open to a peaceful resolution to its war of aggression against Ukraine. But words about peace matter only if they are matched by actions. And there remains a clear and widening gap between Russia’s rhetoric and the reality of its conduct. While speaking of negotiations, Russia continues to reject meaningful opportunities for dialogue and instead intensifies its attacks, with Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure continuing to be impacted.

The facts on the ground are clear. In May, Russia fired a record 7,100 drones at Ukraine, the third consecutive month in which this grim record was broken. May also saw the highest number of civilian casualties since April 2022. And this pattern has continued into June. In its latest mass attack, Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles, killing at least 23 civilians, including two children, and injuring many more. This is not the conduct of a state preparing the ground for peace. It is the conduct of a state continuing to intensify its aggression.

By contrast, Ukraine has shown repeatedly that it is ready for peace. It has agreed to proposals for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire. It has engaged constructively with negotiations. And it has demonstrated that it is prepared to take serious steps to reduce violence and create space for diplomacy. Ukraine is ready. Russia is not.

Ukraine’s position was reinforced last weekend, when the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany met President Zelenskyy and called on President Putin to agree to an immediate and complete ceasefire. They were equally clear that international borders must not be changed by force, that Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose its own security arrangements must be fully respected, and that any just and lasting peace must be underpinned by robust security guarantees. These are serious, credible and principled foundations for peace.

Russia, however, continues to advance maximalist objectives. It continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw from areas Russia has failed to occupy after years of fighting. It continues to prolong negotiations while intensifying military pressure. And it continues to behave as though sovereignty, territorial integrity and the non-use of force are somehow negotiable. They are not.

There is therefore a fundamental contradiction at the heart of Russia’s position. It speaks of peace but acts for war. It calls for dialogue but refuses to engage seriously. The conclusion is unavoidable: Russia has not chosen peace. And there remains one party actively seeking to prolong this war, and it’s the same country that started it and could end it tomorrow: Russia.

Mr Chair, the United Kingdom will continue to stand firmly with Ukraine as it exercises its legitimate right of self-defence under the UN Charter. If Russia is serious about peace, it should demonstrate that through its actions by ending its attacks; agreeing to an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire; engaging constructively in negotiations; and respecting international law and OSCE principles.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 June 2026.

Joint statement from the Foreign Ministers of the UK, Australia and Canada on the launch of the International Peace Fund for Israelis and Palestinians.

Today, we the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada are pleased to announce that we will establish a new International Peace Fund for Israelis and Palestinians, a multi-donor initiative to support peacebuilding efforts to establish the conditions for a lasting peace.

We are doing so at a moment of acute crisis in Israel and Palestine. The last three years have exacted a devastating and dehumanising toll on civilians and deepened mistrust and division between communities. At the same time, civil society has faced increasing restrictions and unprecedented pressure.

As prospects for a two-state solution remain challenging in the short term, there is an urgent need to invest in the conditions that can make future peace possible, through sustained dialogue and vital grassroots engagement.

We remain committed to a just and lasting resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, based on a negotiated two-state solution in which Israeli and Palestinian people can live in peace, security and dignity.

The fund will help strengthen the voices of moderates and marginalise the extremists, including Hamas.

As we have learned from other entrenched conflicts around the world, peace cannot be achieved through political and security measures alone. It also requires sustained effort to rebuild trust, to strengthen cooperation, and to highlight the shared humanity of people.

The Peace Fund will invest in programmes that advance a two-state solution, help reduce division, strengthen civil society, and support dialogue and cooperation within and between Israeli and Palestinian communities, building the foundations for peace.

The Fund will complement existing diplomatic, humanitarian and development efforts by helping to build the relationships, confidence and shared understanding needed for successful negotiations.

Funding contributions underscore strong international commitment to this initiative. As such, we will each be contributing initial seed funding equivalent to £1 million over three years.  Once established, the Fund will be open to additional financial contributions from international partners committed to advancing peace.

Funding will be directed to trusted civil society organisations (CSOs) in both Israel and Palestine, with demonstrated expertise in peacebuilding and dialogue. Additional information on the fund, and its modalities will be announced shortly.

We call on our international partners to support this initiative and invest in the long-term foundations of peace. We also urge all parties to the conflict to take steps to reduce tensions, protect civilians, including humanitarian workers, and uphold international law.

The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada remain committed to working with partners to advance a two-state solution, as the only viable option for peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians.