FCDO Human Rights
Human rights work at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
19th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I have commented in recent weeks on the 10-13 June London Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. This week, I give the floor to Pádraic MacOireachtaigh, Jesuit Refugee Service Regional Advocacy and Communications Officer in the Great Lakes based in Burundi, who participated in the Summit, and who contributes his own supportive but critical […]
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16th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The use of sexual violence in war is one of the great injustices of our lifetime. It is hard to document, let alone investigate. Perpetrators do not discriminate, because it’s not about sex, but violence, terror, power and control. When rape is committed during conflict, it has often been seen as an inevitable part of […]
Read more on Say no to Sexual Violence | Reply
16th June 2014
Geneva, Switzerland
The Human Rights Council is getting too big for its trousers. I know how this feels as I have had to buy a new more spacious suit recently. June sessions used to start slowly, simmer in the second week and come nicely to the boil in week three. But this year week one has begun […]
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12th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Sexual violence committed in war zones has been not only an abomination against humanity but a growing problem. Long seen as an inevitable consequence of a breakdown of law and order and often regarded as a ‘lesser crime’, it is increasingly being used as a means of war to humiliate and devastate communities belonging to the […]
Read more on Ending Sexual Violence as a Tool of War | Reply
12th June 2014
London, UK
The use of sexual violence in war is one of the great injustices of our lifetime. It is hard to document, let alone investigate. Perpetrators do not discriminate, because it’s not about sex, but violence, terror, power and control. When rape is committed during conflict, it has often been seen as an inevitable part of […]
Read more on Now it is #TimeToAct | Reply
11th June 2014
Paris, France
We’ve just had an extraordinary few days here with the State Visit of Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh – but of course there’s a lot else happening in the world as well. I talked before about my foreign minister William Hague’s initiative on preventing sexual violence in conflict. Well, the big […]
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10th June 2014
Sana’a, Yemen
Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict The use of sexual violence in war is one of the great injustices of our lifetime. It is hard to document, let alone investigate. Perpetrators do not discriminate, because it’s not about sex, but violence, terror, power and control. When rape is committed during conflict, it has […]
Read more on Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict | Reply (1)
10th June 2014
Windhoek, Namibia
Today sees the start of a ground-breaking summit in London to address the continuing scourge of sexual violence in conflict. More than 1,200 delegates, including government officials, international organisations, civil society and international experts are expected to attend the event to help spearhead growing international momentum to halt the use of rape and sexual violence […]
Read more on #Timetoact on Sexual Violence | Reply
10th June 2014
Dublin, Ireland
In May 2012, British Foreign Secretary William Hague launched the “Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative” or “PSVI” In short, PSVI is about preventing the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon in conflict. In so many conflict situations, it affects not only large numbers of women, but also men and children. However, the perpetrators of […]
Read more on PSVI Global Summit in London – Time To Act | Reply (2)
6th June 2014
Havana, Cuba
Before I joined the Foreign Office I spent many years working for humanitarian NGOs in central Africa – Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo – where I experienced first-hand the horrors of war and the devastation it can bring to communities, families and individuals. In those conflicts and others, one of the most […]
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