8th July 2019
Geneva, Switzerland
Last week, the UK joined countries from around the world at the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) annual Aid for Trade Global Review, calling on our trading partners to help boost developing countries’ participation in the global trading system. Trade is a key driver of economic growth and can trigger positive changes in developing economies; helping […]
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11th October 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
Nearly a year ago British ministers agreed a plan for the UK’s transition in the World Trade Organization as it leaves the EU. The goal was to establish the UK’s position in the WTO by 29 March 2019 in a way that minimized any disruption, by replicating as far as possible the UK’s current trade […]
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25th September 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
Over the last week the UK Mission in Geneva has advanced a new initiative on patient safety with Germany, Japan and Oman in the WHO; worked with partners in Europe and beyond to table resolutions on Syria, Burma and Somalia in the Human Rights Council; concluded the quadrennial Universal Periodic Review of human rights in […]
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12th September 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
The Human Rights Council of the United Nations is just a political forum, powerless to do anything to stop the worst human rights violations around the world. This was the argument put to me at a briefing last week. We were discussing the session of the UN Human Rights Council that began on Monday. I […]
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15th May 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
In less than two weeks the world will come together to choose a new leader for the international agency responsible for global health issues, from eradicating polio to fighting Ebola. The World Health Assembly, which represents all the nations of the world, will meet at the end of May to elect a new Director General […]
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10th April 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
It been nearly half a century since John Lennon released the song that was to become the most successful of his solo career. His vision of a world without borders, countries, religion or conflict looks utopian to say the least from the perspective of 2017. But there is an area where the common humanity that […]
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4th April 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
Over the last few days a lot of people have asked me whether triggering Article 50 changes anything here in Geneva. The short answer is: no, it doesn’t. During the next two years the United Kingdom will remain a full member of the European Union, with all that that entails in terms of rights and […]
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8th March 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
The March session of the Human Rights Council is the most significant event in the UN human rights calendar. Well over a hundred ministers were in Geneva for the first week, last week. So now is a good time to take stock of the significance of this body and why it matters. To some it […]
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20th February 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
Any day now, something called the Trade Facilitation Agreement will enter into force. There will be no meeting of Presidents, no gala summit. World leaders are unlikely to give speeches. And yet it will unlock economic opportunities for millions of people around the world, reduce poverty and spur economic development. It is estimated that the […]
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31st January 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
At the end of May the nations of the world will meet in Geneva to elect the next Director General of the World Health Organisation. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of millions rests on the decision. That is why the United Kingdom is supporting the candidacy of Dr David Nabarro. The […]
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