Human rights work at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
5th September 2016 London, UK
This week, London will host a day of talks dedicated to United Nations Peacekeeping and how to make it work better. The UK has invited Ministers and representatives from over 70 countries and international organisations to participate in these discussions. UN Peacekeeping is facing new and previously unimaginable challenges. The last five years have seen […]
22nd July 2016 London, UK
Last week saw the launch of the Forced Marriage Unit’s annual summer campaign. The long summer holiday is a high risk time when families may use the opportunity to take young women and men abroad for a forced marriage. This year the Forced Marriage Unit has produced short audio pieces based on the film launched […]
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4th July 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
Late on Friday evening The Council came to a sweaty and cantankerous finish. Well, it sort of did. Not content with causing disruption and delay through 50 hostile amendments to a range of important resolutions, Russia then forced the Council into extra time by persistently objecting during the appointment of the Special Rapporteurs. Time eventually […]
27th June 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
Civil service convention dictates that I should avoid expressing a public view on important domestic matters, so I’ll leave all talk of last week’s referendum to others. I’m free to discuss the weather though and after endless weeks of rain, this week’s dramatic rise in temperature caught many of us by surprise. As someone who […]
23rd June 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Colombo is reaching the end of a three week celebration of PRIDE activities. The events, largely coordinated by Equal Ground, included a Rainbow Bus Parade, a pop quiz, a Film Festival at the British Council and a kite festival – an appropriately diverse range of ways to draw attention to an important human right, the […]
20th June 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
In the months since the last Council session, Star Wars has come to dominate my home life. My son asks endless questions about the characters, while the rest of the family begrudgingly take turns to act them out. I’m most often cast as Jabba the Hutt while my Jedi son brandishes his light sabre and […]
17th June 2016 Vilnius, Lithuania
This year Baltic Pride takes place in Vilnius. I am joining the Pride march to show my support and commitment to promoting and protecting rights for all. The UK champions the rights of LGBT people. British Embassies and High Commissions around the world support LGBT rights in their respective countries in a number of ways. […]
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6th June 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
Each of the three annual sessions of the UN’s Human Rights Council has its own character. This reflects the issues that everyone knows will dominate the session. But each member of the Council also has their own priorities, too. The June session of the Council starts on 13 June and runs to Friday 1 July. […]
26th May 2016
Baroness Anelay, Foreign Office Minister and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, paid a brief visit to Rome last week. The main focus of her trip was to meet religious men and women from Catholic congregations working in Africa and elsewhere to help the victims of sexual violence in conflict. The […]
3rd May 2016 London, UK
FLAGG member Sophie Green shares her personal story about her gender identity and transition. I joined the office over 13 and a half years ago, and, during that time, everyone has known me as Karl. However, as of now, I am going to be known as Sophie. I identify as transgender. Outside of the office […]
Read more on Secret No More: living as my true self, and transitioning gender in the FCO | Reply