25th September 2017 Geneva, Switzerland
Leaving aside the extremely grim subject matter which forms the basis of our work, one of the things I like the least in my job is having to say goodbye to good people. This summer we bade farewell to another great set of colleagues including the UK’s own James Mclaughlin and the ever wonderful, and […]
27th July 2017 London, UKLondon, UK
Today marks 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, an important milestone in the UK’s own journey to full equality for LGBT people. Same-sex relations between men were against the law in England and Wales until 1967, when The Sexual Offences Act decriminalised private homosexual acts between two men aged […]
26th July 2017
On 27th July the United Kingdom will mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. On this day in 1967 the Sexual Offences Act was passed, decriminalising same-sex acts between consenting adults over the age of 21. Homosexual acts had until then been outlawed by legislation passed in the nineteenth century. Today we take […]
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22nd March 2017 London, UK
I seem to have reached an age when there will be funerals. My father’s last year was bittersweet, after a life so fully lived. A similar mixture of grief and celebration permeated the funeral last month of Sir Nigel Rodley, the most distinguished British human rights expert of his generation. In these personal reflections I […]
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20th March 2017 London, UK
We recently celebrated International Women’s Day, a day when we can celebrate the achievements of women in history and around the world. It’s also a day when we look to address the barriers that hold back women. I was delighted to have been appointed to the new role of Special Envoy for Gender Equality. This […]
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8th March 2017 London, UKLondon, UK
“I would venture to guess than Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman” – Virginia Woolf hit the nail on the head. Too often the incredible work and leadership provided by women has been obscured by modesty, self-doubt, or in some cases outright sexism. The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth […]
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8th March 2017 London, UK
I am always dubious about so-called silver bullets that allegedly solve a host of problems. “Life can’t be that simple,” I think. “Surely there must be a catch?” But there is one step that would improve countless lives — and make the world an infinitely better place — if only every government summoned the will […]
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7th March 2017 London, UKLondon, UK
Delivering support and achieving progress in Somalia requires more than one international partner. Multilateral institutions are a vital way of convening the international community and combining our efforts to have a greater effect. One of the many ways in which the UK supports progress in Somalia is through our Permanent Seat on the United Nations […]
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7th March 2017 London, UKLondon, UK
To me, and I expect many others, the word slavery conjures up images of the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. Although the institution of slavery has been almost entirely abolished around the globe, there are still millions of people living in conditions of slavery. When we talk of child soldiers, women trafficked into the […]
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24th January 2017 London, UK
Introduction by Rob Fenn, Head of Human Rights & Democracy Department: By any standards, 2016 was a dramatic year. Finding myself in interesting times, my personal reaction has been to read history. My phone is now crammed with adventure novels set in an equally tumultuous period for the UK, the mid 17th Century – and […]
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