FCDO Human Rights

Human rights work at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

25th November 2014 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Today, 25 November, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women is an issue that the British Government takes very seriously, domestically in the UK and internationally. In its resolution 63/155 of 18 December 2008, the United Nations strengthened its efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women. […]

25th November 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

What makes a man: why sexism is a men’s issue

I wanted to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by partnering with others who feel as strongly. The reaction was so positive that I’ve ended up with two blogs and a campaign. Kofi Annnan described violence against women as a pandemic. Globally, one in three women will have experienced some […]

25th November 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Eliminating Violence Against Women: Two women take stock

Kofi Annnan described violence against women as a pandemic. Globally, one in three women will have experienced some form of violence. In some countries, that increases to 70%. Problems in both the UK and Sri Lanka are well documented – violence against women isn’t an issue of geography, culture or wealth. To mark the International […]

24th November 2014 Geneva, Switzerland

by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

Wearing Orange for Outrage

Tomorrow is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As lead on women’s rights at the UK mission, my colleague Kate Kyriakides has kindly agreed to write a guest blog. Wearing Orange for Outrage Working on human rights at the UN in Geneva makes you realise how lucky you are. Our inboxes […]

23rd November 2014 Chennai, India

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Why I’ll be wearing orange on 25 November

I’ve spent most of my career working on Africa and its issues. It’s a beautiful, resilient, inspiring continent. The people are simply extraordinary. But I’ve also seen first-hand the prevalence of violence against women there. That’s true in conflict – in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and most recently as Ambassador to the Central […]

5th November 2014 London, UK

by Rob Fenn

Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO

New York and the Human Rights ‘Third Committee’ at the United Nations

I have grounds to be nostalgic about New York, where I cut my teeth on human rights work more than twenty years ago. But I never thought I could be made to feel nostalgic about its “smoke filled rooms” (the root cause of the beige decor at UN HQ). But my colleague, Rhian Checkland, has […]

3rd November 2014

by Peter Tibber

Ambassador to Colombia

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Pockets of Hope

I recently met Peter Hullah and his colleagues who lead the “Women’s Education Partnership” a small British NGO working in Sudan to support women’s literacy. They are doing great work and we are delighted to be able to give them some modest help. Here is their story. “Listen to the disadvantaged and displaced women and […]

Inequality: Injustice in Action

16 October is Blog Action day. And this year’s theme is inequality. So here’s a blog about inequality. Tackling inequality is an important part of UK foreign policy. Two of our six human rights priorities are specifically about inequality, including women’s rights and freedom of religion and belief. For us, the promotion and protection of […]

16th October 2014 Pretoria, South Africa

by Judith Macgregor

British High Commissioner to South Africa

Tackling Global Inequalities

Today has been labelled ‘Blog Action Day: Let’s Talk About Inequality.’ To mark this occasion I wanted to share some thoughts on what the UK is doing to promote women’s rights and to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. The promotion and protection of women’s rights is more than a moral obligation. It […]

16th October 2014 London, UK