Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 9 July 2025.

UK Statement for the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies. Delivered by Mr. Adam Williams, Chief Executive and Comptroller-General of the UK’s Intellectual Property Office.

Thank you Chair.

The UK is pleased to be part of the 66th session of the WIPO Assemblies. We thank you, Chair, Ambassador Suescum, DG Tang, and the Secretariat for preparing this session.

We commend your positive leadership, DG, over the past four years. Systems like the PCT, Hague and Madrid remain essential for all UK businesses, providing cost-effective global IP protection. We value your commitment to keeping these services central to WIPO’s work.

The UK welcomes WIPO’s responsible and prudent financial management, which is especially important in these uncertain times. This General Assembly has several challenging issues to discuss ahead, including WIPO’s program and budget. We encourage all delegations to work towards consensus.

The UK applauds the adoption of the design law and genetic resources treaties last year, clear proof that multilateralism and IP can deliver meaningful progress. We are pleased to announce our intention to sign the Design Law Treaty this week, supporting global designers and small businesses.

We strongly support efforts to build a more inclusive IP system, especially programs for women, youth, and underrepresented groups and initiatives like the Global Entrepreneurship Empowerment.

Looking ahead, with just 17% of SDG targets on track, we welcome WIPO GREEN’s expansion, and the growing recognition of IP’s role in tackling climate change. The UK was pleased to sign a MoU with WIPO Green last year and have since joined its Board to deepen collaboration.

We also value WIPO’s work on IP and frontier technologies and encourage deeper collaboration with Geneva-based partners and global initiatives like the UN Global Digital Compact and AI for Good.

Finally, we thank the Secretariat for its report on assistance for Ukraine’s innovation and creativity sector (document A/66/8). While Ukraine faces an unprecedented level of Russian attacks on its towns and cities, wreaking horrific damage on its people and its creative industries, we salute its resilience and innovation in the face of such criminality, and welcome the support provided by WIPO.

Chair, the UK remains committed to a WIPO that is efficient, inclusive and focused on delivering for global innovators and creators.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 July 2025.

The Prime Minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

They reflected on the State Visit of the President so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.

The Prime Minister welcomed the news that EDF would take a 12.5% stake in Sizewell C leading to lower bills, more jobs and better energy security for the UK.

The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

The Prime Minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.

Finally, they looked ahead to the 37th UK-France Summit taking place tomorrow and agreed to aim for concrete progress on these areas.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 9 July 2025.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Yemen.

I’d like to make three points.

First, the UK, like our briefers, strongly condemns the reckless Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

They have led to the tragic loss of life of innocent mariners.

They undermine maritime security and global trade, and pose a significant risk to the environment.

The UK remains committed to countering the threat posed by the Houthis and restoring freedom of navigation.

We will continue to work with partners and support the Special Envoy in a coordinated international approach to achieve these goals.

Moreover, the Houthis’ continued smuggling of weapons into Yemen is a clear violation of the arms embargo, as implemented by resolution 2216.

The UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism is critical to ensure compliance with the arms embargo and prevent smuggling of illicit arms.

So the UK calls on the international community to redouble efforts to enforce compliance with the arms embargo, disrupt the illegal weapons flow and support the critical role of the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism, in this regard.

Second, as USG Fletcher reminded us and Ms Nasser too, Yemen is experiencing a significant deterioration in food security.

The FAO’s Integration Food Security Phase Classification for Yemen notes, as USG Fletcher said, that the number of Yemenis experiencing food insecurity is predicted to rise by over a million to 18.1 million by February next year.

This year, the UK’s Food Security Safety Nets programme will provide $79 million of assistance to help feed at least 864,000 Yemenis, and to support the Government of Yemen’s economic reforms to design a more coherent and coordinated response.

As others have said, the Houthis’ continued arbitrary and cruel detention of aid workers are undermining efforts to meet the needs of Yemenis.

The UK condemns these unjustified detentions.

And I reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained.

Finally, President, Yemenis have suffered for far too long a toxic combination of insecurity and dire humanitarian conditions.

Now is the time to redouble our efforts towards an inclusive and sustainable peace.

The UK remains committed to supporting the UN Special Envoy’s work to deliver this.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 9 July 2025.

Deputy Ambassador James Ford condemns the grave violations Russian armed forces and authorities have committed against children in Ukraine, including through attacks on schools and hospitals.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr Chair.  I would also like to thank the speakers for their insights on the important and emotive topic we are dealing with today.

The United Kingdom is deeply concerned about the worsening situation for children in conflicts around the world.  More grave violations against children were verified by the UN than ever before in 2024, and instances of rape and other forms of sexual violence against children increased by 35% compared to 2023.

Regrettably, Madam Chair, our own region has not been immune from this trend.  Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine continues to have a harrowing effect on Ukraine’s 7.5 million children – on their health, education, family life and prospects for their futures.

In 1999, UN Security Council Resolution 1261 defined ‘Six Grave Violations’ most frequently affecting children in times of war. According to the latest UN report on children and armed conflict, there is mounting evidence that Russian authorities and Russian armed forces have committed at least five of these Six Grave Violations in Ukraine.  For consecutive years, the UN Secretary General has reported that under two categories – the killing and maiming of children, and attacks on schools and hospitals – the violations committed by Russian armed forces are prolific enough to warrant formal listing in his annual report.

A case in point is the attack on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.  Yesterday marked one year since a Russian KH-101 cruise missile struck the hospital. It was the biggest children’s medical facility in Ukraine and the country’s primary provider of specialist paediatric care.

According to UNICEF’s report from November 2024, the war has killed or injured over 2,406 children – an average of sixteen children every week.  The UN verified 222 cases of children being killed or injured in Ukraine between 1 March and 31 May 2025 – three times more children killed than during the previous quarter. In April this year alone, 97 children were killed or maimed. According to UN statistics, that is the highest monthly number of child casualties since June 2022.

It is not just death or injury that Ukrainian children face on a daily basis.  According to the Government of Ukraine, the Russian authorities and armed forces have deported nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children to Russia and the temporarily occupied territories.  UN reports detail the treatment of Ukrainian children in these territories. Russian authorities have systematically forced the introduction of Russian language curriculum in schools, as well as ‘military-patriotic’ training. They have also forced Ukrainian children to adopt Russian citizenship.  Save the Children estimates that Russian attacks destroyed or damaged 576 education facilities in 2024 – more than double the 256 of the year before.

UN and Save the Children reports also underline that children fleeing the fighting in Ukraine are at significant risk of family separation, abuse, violence, sexual exploitation, and trafficking.  Countless people will bear the social and psychological trauma for years to come.

Moscow continues to try to disguise these crimes through a campaign of denial and disinformation.  But these abuses have all been verified by independent sources, including the UN, ODIHR and reports commissioned under the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism.

As we all know, and as the speakers have detailed today, children are uniquely vulnerable and disproportionately affected by conflict.  We welcome the OSCE’s work to hold Russia accountable for its actions and to support Ukraine, including through the SPU, the Support Programme for Ukraine.  And we call on Russia to cease this unprovoked, illegal war and immediately and unconditionally return forcibly deported children to Ukraine.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 July 2025.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Lebanon and reiterated the UK’s ongoing support for Lebanon’s security, stability and future prosperity.

As part of a regional visit, Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Lebanon on Friday 4 July 2025. He reiterated the UK’s ongoing support for Lebanon’s security, stability and future prosperity.

The Foreign Secretary met with President General Joseph Aoun at the Presidential Palace. Discussions focused on the latest local and regional developments and UK-Lebanon bilateral relations.

The Foreign Secretary spoke about the urgency of efforts to reach a lasting peace in Lebanon and the region. He stressed the importance of Lebanon and Israel implementing the ceasefire agreement in full, including the withdrawal of Israeli Forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) throughout the South.

He commended the long-standing and strong bilateral partnership between Lebanon and the UK including with the LAF, both in the South and on the border with Syria. Since 2009, the UK has spent over £115 million to support the LAF with infrastructure, vehicles, training and equipment and since 2013 supported the establishment of the Land Border Regiments (LBRs) on the border with Syria.

The Foreign Secretary also reiterated the UK’s support for UNIFIL and the role they play for stability in South Lebanon, as mandated in UNSCR 1701.  He called for urgent implementation of essential economic reforms and transparent processes for justice and accountability.

British Ambassador Hamish Cowell said:

I was pleased to welcome British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to Lebanon, following unprecedented regional tensions.

Efforts must continue to secure a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon and allow the full deployment of the Lebanese Army to the south of the country, as the sole legitimate defender of Lebanon.

Stability in the Middle East is in everyone’s interest. The full implementation of UNSCR 1701 is crucial to Lebanon and the region’s future security.

Lebanon’s path to recovery is dependent on essential reforms, including those required to secure an IMF agreement to rebuild the economy and unlock international investment.

The UK remains a steadfast partner to Lebanon and its people.

The Foreign Secretary also visited Syria as part of his regional trip. This is the first by a UK Minister in 14 years and renews the UK-Syria diplomatic relationship. The Foreign Secretary met President Al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani to reiterate the importance of an inclusive and representative political transition in Syria and offer continued UK support to the Syrian people.