11th May 2026
The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: turning a global ocean agreement into UK law
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
9th April 2026
The Gulf, Berlin and the Commission on the Status of Women: building global alliances to advance women’s progress
26th February 2026
Different Memories, Shared Futures: Why Inclusive Remembrance Matters for Serbia and the Region
19th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
6 shopping days to Christmas, 12 to the Hungarian Presidency
I have spent the last week in cold, wet, snowy London and hope I am not going to be stuck here for too much longer by flight cancellations due to the snow. This is as a result of the huge, current level of interest in Hungary and how it is going to manage its EU […]
Read more on 6 shopping days to Christmas, 12 to the Hungarian Presidency | Reply
17th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Public private partnerships
When the Lord Mayor of London visited Kyiv in September 2009 he drew attention to the immense expertise of British financial institutions in developing Public Private Partnership or PPP. This is an arrangement where a private organisation assumes the risk of financing and building anything from a bridge to a hospital on the basis of […]
16th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Migration to the UK
The issue of immigration is an emotive one. In countries that are net recipients of migrants, such as my own, immigration is often high on the political agenda. At a time of economic recession, when every job counts, migrants are often accused of “taking away” the jobs of others born in the country but unemployed. […]
16th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Holidays in Chernobyl
The UK and international press have reacted with intrigue to the suggestion that Chernobyl, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, could be a new tourist hotspot. In fact as some reports have noted, it has been possible to visit the site, along with the nearby abandoned Soviet-era city of Pripyat, for several years. I visited […]
15th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Craiova: the advantages of British investment
I was in Craiova in early December to look at the climate for British investment. I visited one of the largest British investments in the region, the plant run by Cummins Generator Technologies which manufactures electrical generators in a joint venture with Electroputere Craiova. Cummins have installed new equipment and refurbished the existing machines at […]
Read more on Craiova: the advantages of British investment | Reply
14th December 2010 Geneva, Switzerland
Putting the “Universal” Back in the Universal Declaration
Guest blog by John Fisher, ARC International* “It is not called the ‘Partial’ Declaration of Human Rights,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon underlined at a World Human Rights Day panel on Ending Violence and Criminal Sanctions based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. “It is not the ‘Sometimes’ Declaration of Human Rights.” The Secretary General […]
Read more on Putting the “Universal” Back in the Universal Declaration | Reply
13th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Keeping Ukrainian families together
It’s not often that we charge people to enter my house. But we make an exception when we host a charity reception in support of the Ukrainian charity EveryChild. Ukraine, like many other countries in Eastern Europe, continues to house large number of children in orphanages. EveryChild, which was set up as the result of […]
12th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
BBC Book of the Year 2010
The lofty, historic hall of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy is packed with journalists, TV cameras and microphones. The occasion is the prize-giving for the BBC Ukrainian Service Book of the Year Competition. The prize, worth #1,000, is in my pocket. Several of the five short-listed authors are present, one via Skype from Washington. Five distinguished […]
10th December 2010 New York, USA
Human Rights Day at the United Nations
by Sarah Mann Sarah is a British diplomat who has just finished a three-month posting to the UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) in New York working primarily on human rights issues. Today is my last day working at UKMIS in New York, which makes it a very sad day for me. But it is also a […]
10th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Transcarpathia: castles, skis and the mayor’s car
The walls of the castle rise sheer from the base of a deep, dry moat. Three different batteries of cannon face the west. To the east rise the Carpathians, dusted with snow. Welcome to Mukachevo, scenic setting of the world’s largest ski factory and as dense a melting pot of European cultures as one could […]
Read more on Transcarpathia: castles, skis and the mayor’s car | Reply