Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

22nd June 2015 Geneva, Switzerland

Avatar photo

by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

The Best Laid Plans

The more time I spend at the Council, the more things seem to be getting out of control at home. The kids cope well enough, but our cat Pixie has spent the week continuing her recent hunting spree in a blatant show of attention-seeking. This week I’ve had to dispose of a shrew, two field […]

Read more on The Best Laid Plans | Reply (1)

21st June 2015 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Avatar photo

by Edmund Fitton-Brown

British Ambassador to Yemen

Ramadan: a Time for Reflection

Last Thursday saw the start of Ramadan: a time of consideration for all, and peace. Never have my thoughts been more with the people of Yemen, who are suffering greatly due to the ongoing conflict. I am writing this having just returned from the Yemen consultations in Geneva, where parties convened under the auspices of […]

Read more on Ramadan: a Time for Reflection | Reply (1)

19th June 2015 London, UK

Avatar photo

by Daniel Pruce

British Ambassador to the Philippines and to Palau

“The girls were shared out among the men, we were not free,” says sexual assault survivor

Florence Ayot was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda when she was nine years old. “I was given to a Major and forced to be his slave. If I didn’t do what they ordered, they beat me,” says Florence in the documentary The War Against Women. “The most painful thing was that the girls […]

Read more on “The girls were shared out among the men, we were not free,” says sexual assault survivor | Reply

19th June 2015 Sofia, Bulgaria

Emma Hopkins, British Ambassador to Bulgaria

by Emma Hopkins

Former UK Ambassador to Bulgaria

No One Is Above the Law

UK embassies around the world along with my Foreign Minister this week commemorate the 800 year anniversary since the sealing of Magna Carta in a tented encampment on the banks of the River Thames in 1215. Magna Carta has become a strong British brand – over the centuries it has come to stand for much […]

Read more on No One Is Above the Law | Reply

19th June 2015 New Delhi, India

Avatar photo

by Swati Saxena

Senior Science and Innovation Adviser

World Health Assembly 68: a GREAT fortnight for global health

Guest Blogger: Dr. Himangi Bhardwaj, Senior Health Adviser for the FCO’s (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) network in India, and part of the official UK delegation to the World Health Assembly, reports on her maiden United Nations experience, and her exciting adventures! The World Health Assembly 68 (WHA 68), organised from May 18 – 26, 2015 […]

Read more on World Health Assembly 68: a GREAT fortnight for global health | Reply

19th June 2015

Avatar photo

by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Crossroads and boundaries: Eastern Anatolia

Snow-capped peaks tower over ancient mausoleums.  Although they were built by Saltukids in the 12th Century, the steep-roofed tombs are reminiscent of Armenian churches.  The nearby Selcuk-era madrasah features both Central Asian-style twin minarets and double-headed Byzantine eagles.  Above the city, in a fortress founded by Emperor Theodosius in the 4th century, a newer minaret-like structure […]

Read more on Crossroads and boundaries: Eastern Anatolia | Reply

18th June 2015

Avatar photo

by Edward Ferguson

British Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia

Remembering Srebrenica

In the last few days, a lot of people have been expressing strong views about the planned UN resolution to mark the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica during the terrible war of the 1990s, where all sides suffered such terrible losses, military and civilian. When the UK accepted the responsibility of drafting this […]

Read more on Remembering Srebrenica | Reply (14)

18th June 2015

by Peter Tibber

Ambassador to Colombia

Farewell to Sudan

I leave Sudan soon, after nearly 3 years here. It has been a hugely engaging, demanding, frustrating and rewarding experience. I have learnt a great deal; about Sudan, about my profession of diplomacy, and about the range and challenges of circumstances in which people live out their lives. Sudan has changed me. I leave with […]

Read more on Farewell to Sudan | Reply