FCDO Human Rights
Human rights work at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
25th November 2014
Mogadishu, Somalia
Today we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and start 16 days of activism to end gender violence. Living and working in Somalia, I see firsthand how desperately important this issue is. Many women in Somalia lead hard lives. Girls and women suffer disproportionately from conflict and poverty. One in […]
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25th November 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role

The following is a guest blog by Simona Prete, Policy and Communication Officer, British Embassy to the Holy See Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Last week, I attended a roundtable discussion held during the VII World Congress of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants, focused […]
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25th November 2014
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

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. […]
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25th November 2014
Colombo, Sri Lanka
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 […]
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25th November 2014
Colombo, Sri Lanka
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 […]
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24th November 2014
Geneva, Switzerland
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 […]
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23rd November 2014
Chennai, India
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 […]
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5th November 2014
London, UK
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 […]
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3rd November 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
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16th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
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