Author: HM Government

Updates to this page Published 31 December 2020 Last updated 23 April 2026 + show all updates 23 April 2026 Amended to clarify which DBT teams now lead on trade licensing. 25 March 2026 Added summary of the regime’s purposes, scope and prohibitions. 17 March 2026 Page updated for better clarity and usability, and to […]

Thank you, Chair. Welcome back to the Permanent Council Jan and thank you for your report.    The United Kingdom remains steadfast in its commitment to media freedom around the world, recognising the vital role that journalists play in upholding human rights, supporting accountable governance, and protecting democracy. As the Moldovan President Maia Sandu put it, “Peace cannot survive without information […]

I will focus on three elements that are central to the current situation in Libya. Firstly economic governance, then sovereign resources, then migrants and refugees, and then I’ll look at the way forward. First, the United Kingdom welcomes the milestone agreement on a unified budget reached on 11 April.  This provides the opportunity to improve economic […]

I would like to begin by welcoming Foreign Minister Villavicencio to the Council for today’s session. I thank the Special Representative for his briefing, and I also thank Ms Quintero for sharing her experiences. The UK reaffirms its strong support for the full implementation of Colombia’s 2016 Peace Agreement.   We congratulate Colombia’s election authorities, security […]

Thank you, Chair, Ajay, and everyone at the Bank.  I set out my priorities in my written statement. So I want to focus here on 2 things.  First, we all know that war is development in reverse. So we need to see an end to all conflict, including Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine. And I have heard clearly here, that the war in the Middle East […]

Updates to this page Published 4 October 2021 Last updated 21 April 2026 + show all updates 21 April 2026 Minutes of the Fifth Trade Specialised Committee on Goods, 6 November 2025, added to page. 29 October 2025 Fifth meeting of the Trade Specialised Committee on Goods on 6 November 2025: Agenda added. 26 June […]

The Council meets today because Russia continues to violate the Charter it is bound to uphold. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was not forced. It was, and continues to be, a deliberate act of aggression intended to erase another state’s identity. In recent weeks, Russia has continued to subject Ukraine’s cities to drone and missile strikes […]

Thank you, Moderator, and to the panellists for such insightful presentations. The United Kingdom is firmly committed to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking in all its forms. Human trafficking for forced criminality, particularly within cyber scam operations; is one of the fastest‑evolving forms of exploitation globally. Cyber-scam centres pose major security and human rights […]

Updates to this page Published 1 February 2023 Last updated 20 April 2026 + show all updates 20 April 2026 Added RotaLaw Limited to the providers list. 1 April 2026 Added 4 providers to the list: ACM Legal, Ace Apostille, Apostille Direct Legalisation Agents Ltd and Edinburgh Notary Public. Removed IMEX Legal from the list. […]

Mr Chair, I’m honoured to deliver this statement on behalf of the following OSCE participating States: Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and, my own country, France. In the 1991 Moscow Document, OSCE participating States agreed that commitments undertaken in the field of the […]