Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

12th June 2014

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

#TimeToAct – emblazoned across the Australian sky

I’m not a fan of hot air. Although when you’re floating in a balloon over Australia’s capital city Canberra, and it’s the only thing keeping you up there, you’re rather glad of it. The balloon was emblazoned with the hashtag #TimeToAct. We were drawing attention to the Global Summit on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict, […]

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12th June 2014 London, UK

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by Richard Moore

FCO Political Director

Now it is #TimeToAct

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 […]

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11th June 2014 Paris, France

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by Peter Ricketts

Ambassador to France from February 2012 to January 2016.

It’s #TimeToAct

End Sexual Violence in Conflict - #TimeToAct

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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11th June 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

#TimeToAct: Catholics building a better future

As the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict unfolds, I am delighted to give voice in my blog to a story from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last week at Vatican Radio, a panel discussion showed that religious networks have a huge role to play to end the use of rape as a […]

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11th June 2014 Mumbai, India

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by Vijay Iyer

Senior Science & Innovation Adviser

Future of manufacturing in the UK: Highlights from Foresight report

Globalisation is here to stay and will continue to evolve with the changing dynamics of the world in which we live. The influence of globalisation on the manufacturing sector has been tremendous. It is crucial to understand these influencers at play to chart out a future path for sustainable manufacturing. Clearly, the government and industry […]

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11th June 2014

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

Football for the Fans

The World Cup starts tomorrow.  For the next month the beautiful game will be played in 64 matches between 32 teams, watched by people all over the world.  It will be the greatest show on earth this year. This extravaganza will be played in Brazil, a country that lives, breathes and sleeps football.  As a […]

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10th June 2014 Sana’a, Yemen

Jane Marriott, British Ambassador to Yemen

by Jane Marriott

British Ambassador to Yemen

Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict

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 […]

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