3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
26th September 2016 London, UK
Counter Daesh Communications: 1 year on
This week marks 2 years since the UK made the decision to join the Global Coalition – a unified body of 67 international partners dedicated to degrading and defeating Daesh. Two years on and the Global Coalition’s work has seen results. Foreign fighters travelling to Iraq and Syria to join Daesh have decreased by up […]
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26th September 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
The Ghosts of Councils Past
I’ve been having a spooky session. For the past fortnight people who left the Council many moons ago have been popping up all over the place as though they never left. Former colleagues do of course come back from time to time but it’s been happening so much recently I’m starting to wonder if I’m […]
23rd September 2016 UK, London
Celebrating success with Aung San Suu Kyi, and looking to the future for Burma
This week in New York, Burma reached another significant milestone, in what has already been a momentous year for the country. Among the throngs of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held a meeting to celebrate the conclusion of his partnership group on Burma – their work is complete. […]
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22nd September 2016 Guatemala City
Travel through Guatemala
Guatemala is blessed with a huge diversity of tourist sites. Best known are the charming Spanish-colonial city of Antigua, the stunning Mayan ruins of Tikal, and the beautiful volcano-ringed lake of Atitlan. But it also boasts some other remarkable but less known sites, which draw significant number of discerning travellers – and especially young backpackers. […]
22nd September 2016 London, UK
UN Security Council Resolution 2309 : Aviation Security
Over the past year, we have seen a growing trend of terrorists targeting civil aviation. This has included attacks on airports in Brussels and Istanbul, the destruction of the Russian Metrojet aircraft over Sinai and the explosion on board a Daallo Airways flight from Mogadishu. These tragic attacks are a stark reminder of the urgent […]
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21st September 2016 London, UK
Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict: the importance of challenging stigma
In 2014, the UK hosted the Global Summit to end sexual violence in conflict, bringing together more than 120 countries, over 100 NGOs and international organisations and more than 900 experts and survivors. The Summit was a milestone in bringing the issue of sexual violence in conflict to international attention and encouraging governments around the […]
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21st September 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Vacaresti: A Wetland in Central Bucharest
On Sunday morning I headed to a small supermarket of the La doi Pasi chain at the base of one of the towers of Asmita Gardens residential complex, close to the canalised Dambovita river in the southern part of the Romanian capital. I was there to meet Dan Barbulescu, Director of the Vacaresti Natural Park […]
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20th September 2016
Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem and the UK is leading the way
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a huge threat to global health. It is estimated that by 2050 AMR could be responsible for an extra 10 million premature deaths, more than die from cancer today. The UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has said that ‘Antimicrobial resistance poses a catastrophic threat. If we do not […]
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20th September 2016 Vienna, Austria
A Tyrolean Squirrel’s Tail
When I arrived at the British Embassy in Vienna on 29 August 2016 one of my first meetings was with my excellent Press and Public Affairs (PPA) team. Part of the work of diplomats is to explain to people what we do; and draw attention to good things that link our countries together. For example, […]
19th September 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
Too little time
I’m afraid I have to begin on a very sad note as our friend and colleague Ebenezer Appreku, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ghana, passed away just before the session. He was a wonderful man and a strong human rights advocate. I often heard him speak about how critical attention by the UN had helped […]