Tag: Foreign Office

Foreign Secretary ‘closely considering’ resuming UK funding to UNRWA

Statement by UK Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UNRWA Pledging Conference 2024 yesterday

The devastating violence in Gaza has gone on for far too long. And I pay tribute to the work of UNRWA in unprecedentedly challenging circumstances and to the leadership of Commissioner General Lazzarini.

In one of his first acts as UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer set out the clear and urgent need for an immediate ceasefire that leads to a sustainable peace with security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

We are calling for the release of all the hostages, the upholding of international humanitarian law, and a rapid increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

President, Palestinians in Gaza are facing a humanitarian catastrophe and the very real risk of famine. For months they have suffered unbearable hardship without the food and protection from harm that they need.

Too many Palestinian civilians are being killed, and much of civilian infrastructure essential to life has been destroyed. The UK is committed to working with our international partners to alleviate this suffering and get more aid to the civilians who need it most.

We welcome the UN’s leadership role in coordinating and delivering the humanitarian response.

We recognise that UNRWA is absolutely central to these efforts. It is playing a critically important role in getting aid to those who need it in Gaza and providing essential services, including healthcare and education, to Palestinian refugees across the region.

So I want to take the opportunity again today to pay tribute to those brave and selfless UNRWA staff who face danger every day as they work to get aid to those in desperate need.

Today the UK stands with 117 Member States, led by Jordan, Slovenia and Kuwait, in making clear our shared commitment to UNWRA and to make clear our support for the vital role it plays in saving lives and promoting regional stability – a fundamental building block for lasting peace.

President, we were appalled by the allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attacks against Israel. The Secretary-General and the Commissioner General of UNRWA took these allegations seriously and acted decisively.

And we are confident that UNRWA is taking robust action in response Catherine Colonna’s independent review, to ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality, transparency and accountability.

The UK recognises the importance of UNRWA’s mandate and the need for UNRWA to operate on a sustainable financial footing.

Following last week’s elections in the United Kingdom, the new Foreign Secretary is closely considering resuming UK funding to UNRWA.

MEANWHILE, the UK continues to supply arms to Israel.

Strange old world, eh? – Ed.

Afghanistan: Systemic failures of leadership, planning and preparation

MPs slam Government role in UK withdrawal from Afghanistan

  • Fundamental lack of planning, grip or leadership at a time of national emergency
  • No clear line of command within political leadership of Government; untraceable and unaccountable political interventions
  • Total absence of plans to evacuate Afghans who supported the UK mission without being directly employed, put lives at risk
  • Committee loses confidence in Foreign Office’s top civil servant and urges him to consider his position

In a damning report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, MPs say the Foreign Office, the National Security Advisor and Ministers must accept responsibility for the failure to prepare or respond, abandoning the UK’s allies and damaging the UK’s interests.

Missing in action: UK leadership and the withdrawal from Afghanistan is the result of the Foreign Affairs Committee’s inquiry into government policy towards the country. The Committee considered the role of the Foreign Office in the run up to withdrawal, during the evacuation effort, and in leading engagement with the new regime in the following months.

They heard from senior officials; met with Afghans who were evacuated; surveyed MPs’ offices on their efforts to help Afghans; and received written, often sensitive, evidence from a wide range of stakeholders including two Foreign Office whistleblowers. 

The MPs’ inquiry found that important policy decisions were made through informal, unaccountable means. Senior officials believed that the Prime Minister played a greater role in some decisions than has been admitted.

The Committee was not offered a plausible alternative explanation.

More seriously, the FCDO provided answers that were intentionally evasive and often deliberately misleading. Government officials should not be expected to obscure the facts to shield others from political accountability.

Today’s report refers to the ‘appalling mismanagement of the crisis’ and the misleading statements to Parliament which followed.

Those who lead the Foreign Office should be ashamed that civil servants of great integrity felt compelled to risk their careers to bring the situation to light, says the report. It is the responsibility of the Permanent Under-Secretary to ensure the system operates effectively, leading the Committee to conclude that he no longer has their confidence and should consider his position.

The UK Government must commit to a serious strategy for future engagement with Afghanistan. The failure to do so would abandon women and girls in the single biggest reversal of rights in a generation.

Today’s report calls on the Government to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan as soon as it is safe to do so, and to work with those on the ground who can support civil society.

Attempts to isolate the new regime entirely may only hurt the Afghan people and leave a vacuum to be filled by China. The report argues that humanitarian aid alone will not be enough to avert catastrophe and that the UK should aim to resume development aid when possible, placing Afghan women at the heart of its policy towards the country. 

The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat MP, said: ““The UK’s part in this tragedy exposes a lack of seriousness in achieving co-ordination, a lack of clear decision-making, a lack of leadership and a lack of accountability.

“At a time when we face critical foreign policy challenges, and the risks to our lives and economy are so serious, including from the current energy and inflation pressures, our diplomacy and security cannot be so confused and unstructured. Unity of purpose, clarity and coordination require serious intent and consistent political leadership. 

“The timeline of misery exposed by this report reveals serious systemic failures at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy. The absence of the FCDO’s top leadership – ministerial and official – when Kabul fell is a grave indictment on those supposedly in charge.

“While junior officials demonstrated courage and integrity, chaotic and arbitrary decision-making runs through this inquiry. Sadly, it may have cost many people the chance to leave Afghanistan, putting lives in danger.  The integrity of the Civil Service depends on those leading these organisations showing the courage to tell the truth to the British people.

“There are many heroes in this story who worked under enormous pressures. The military and civilian personnel on the ground in Afghanistan, and many in the FCDO itself, during the evacuation and those who helped from afar deserve our thanks.

“Now, Afghanistan faces a terrible humanitarian crisis with 23 million people at risk of starvation and the rights of women and girls have faced their greatest reversal in a generation. All this while the threat from extremism has grown.

“We need a serious rethink in the heart of the UK Government to combine diplomacy, aid and trade in a concerted and strategic approach to future policy towards Afghanistan.”

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UK Sikhs urge Dominic Raab to raise human rights violations against farmers in India

Sikh Organisations and Gurdwaras (Temples) from across the UK have written to The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Rabb, expressing their grave concerns about the human rights violations against farmers and journalists in India:

‘We urge the Foreign Secretary to express our collective concerns on behalf of the British people to India’s Government and raise the matter at the United Nations.

“Security services are indiscriminately detaining and charging protesting farmers and journalists with false charges of terrorism, sedition”

‘The Indian security services are indiscriminately detaining and charging protesting farmers and journalists with false charges of terrorism, sedition, and anti-national conduct. Internet and phone services have been restricted to prevent independent reporting of the situation on the ground in Delhi. Several journalists and farmers have been arrested or gone missing, many protestors have been illegally detained and tortured.

‘The Indian Government is in breach of various UN resolutions and international laws regarding the right to protest, access to information, and free press. The British Government has raised concerns around this right several times concerning the Chinese Government’s crackdowns on peaceful protests.

‘As citizens and residents of Great Britain, we call on Dominic Raab, as our Foreign Secretary to raise these matters urgently with the Indian Government and his counterparts and urge the Indian authorities to act with restraint and resume peaceful dialogue with the farmer groups.

‘We urge the UK Government to pursue this matter with the appropriate authorities and forums at the United Nations. As a Government, which is committed to the rule of law and human rights, there is a positive obligation on the British Government to continuously raise and monitor matters that concern the violation of fundamental human rights anywhere in the world.’

Gaza: Call for action after school is shelled

British Red Cross launches Gaza appeal

gaza3UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is ‘deeply concerned’ by the crisis in Gaza and is urging continued efforts towards ceasefire. Mr Hammond spoke as reports that at least 15 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in the shelling of a United Nations-run school used as a shelter in Gaza. The British Red Cross has also launched an appeal to fund vital help for people affected.

More than 600 people have died and almost 150,000 forced to flee their homes in more than two weeks of violence. As the conflict continues, 1.2 million people have no or limited access to water or sanitation.

Staff and volunteers from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have already been working around in the clock in dangerous conditions to help people affected.

Donations to the appeal will help them continue giving essential support, which has so far included emergency health care such as treating the wounded, sending ambulances across the Gaza Strip and bringing truckloads of medical supplies to hospitals. The Movement has also carried out vital repairs to water and sewage networks.

The Movement has also negotiated crucial pauses in the fighting, allowing civilians to evacuate some of the worst hit areas.

Katy Attfield, British Red Cross head of disaster management, said: “The violence in Gaza and Israel has devastated communities, and left many people in desperate need of help. Donations to the appeal will give them crucial support in the weeks and months ahead. Please give what you can.”

To donate to the appeal visit www.redcross.org.uk

redcrossappealVisiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on yesterday and today (23 and 24 July), Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

The Foreign Secretary said: “The conflict in Gaza is taking a terrible toll. With more than 700 Palestinians killed, including more than 150 children, as well as the loss of more than 30 Israeli lives, it is beyond time to bring an end to this conflict and stop the bloodshed.

“I stressed to all those I saw my deep concern at the high numbers of civilian casualties and the humanitarian impact of the conflict. I underlined the need for all concerned to exert every effort to secure an immediate ceasefire to end the violence.

“With President Abbas, I expressed my concern for the heavy loss of civilian lives in Gaza, including many women and children. I reiterated the UK’s strong support for his leadership and thanked him for his own efforts to achieve a ceasefire. I stressed that, once a ceasefire is secured, there is an urgent need for a long term plan for Gaza.

“With Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Lieberman, I expressed my deep concern at Hamas’s rocket attacks and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself. I urged that Israeli forces do everything they can to avoid civilian casualties, and stressed the need for a rapid conclusion to their ground operation in Gaza.

“With all, I emphasised the UK’s support for the US-Egyptian led efforts to broker a ceasefire, which remains the best means of ending the current violence and preventing further loss of life. For a ceasefire to be durable, there must then be rapid movement to address the underlying causes of the conflict, with a central role for the Palestinian Authority and a strong one for the international community.

“The current crisis underlines once again the need for a wider political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which is the only way to secure a lasting peace.”

gaza2Commenting on the worsening situation, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said: “It is vital that the situation is brought under control and de-escalated as soon as possible, to prevent any more loss of innocent civilian lives, such as those in this latest incident.

“That involves restraint on both sides – the rocket attacks on Israel should stop, as should the Israeli shelling of Gaza, which has been heavily disproportionate. Israel has a right to seek security for its own citizens, but that should not involve the shelling of civilian areas.

“I am glad to see that the UK Government have now become active on this issue, with the Foreign Secretary’s visit to meet with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. However, that action will only be effective if it involves frank dialogue, and as such the Foreign Secretary’s view that ‘Western opinion is becoming more and more concerned and less and less sympathetic to Israel’ is one that should be heeded by the Israeli leadership.

“As a Government we continue to add our voice to those in the international community calling for an immediate, longer term ceasefire to put an end to the violence that is causing so many civilian deaths and injuries. We also believe that the continued blockade of Gaza is exacerbating the suffering experienced by the civilian population people there and should come to an end.”

In the past 16 days of fighting, more than 750 Palestinians and 33 Israelis have been killed, with thousands more injured, according to official reports. With little prospect of peace in sight and the international community seemingly unable to intervene to stop the slaughter, those dreadful figures can only rise. 

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That appeal website address again:

www.redcross.org.uk