2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
14th October 2025
Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
13th October 2025
UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls: September visits to Sarajevo and New York
23rd December 2022 United Kingdom
A year of contrasts: PM’s Special Envoy for LGBT+ rights reflects on global events in 2022
2022 was a year of contrasts for LGBT+ rights. I often talk about two worlds of rights: one in which conditions seem to be going backwards for LGBT+ people, but another in which progress is being made. It’s impossible to ignore the awful things that have happened this year. Two people were killed in Norway […]
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17th November 2022 Belgrade, Serbia
Wisdom, Trust and Remembrance
Citizens look to their national leaders to govern responsibly and in the interests of their country. They hope that leaders will be blessed with wisdom and good judgement, and that they will exercise their authority responsibility. In return, leaders earn the trust of the people they govern. In democratic societies people are free to make […]
27th October 2022 Geneva, Switzerland
Lessons from a lawyer: my first year in multilateral diplomacy
The close of the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council marked a full year since I started my role as Legal Counsellor to the UK Mission in Geneva. Truth be told, I almost missed the anniversary completely. According to those that have been around far longer than I have, it was one of […]
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13th October 2022
Girls’ education: measuring access and learning through the Global Objectives report
Today the Minister for Development Vicky Ford launches the Global Objectives report alongside colleagues from the Global Education Monitoring Report, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and the UN Girls’ Education Initiative, who jointly authored the report. The report sets out the progress made against two objectives on girls’ access to education and their learning. Improving […]
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12th October 2022 Geneva, Switzerland
Number 51
I’ve always had a fond attachment to the number 51. It was my house number growing up in Manchester, as little Robert. My first memory there was my parents bringing my newly-born baby sister home from the hospital. And my mum was born in the year ’51 (as well as some more famous but less […]
11th October 2022 London
International Day of the Girl 2022: the story of Beletch
Today is International Day of the Girl (IDG) where we stand accountable, with and for girls, especially those growing up in poverty who face unprecedented challenges from widening inequality and compounding global crises. This includes the 118 million girls who are out of school globally and the 12 million girls who are married before the […]
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7th October 2022
UK Ministry of Defence provides support to Cayman Islands following Hurricane Ian
Hurricane Ian caused much anxiety and tension for many in the Cayman Islands as it was the first storm for the hurricane season to set its path close to the country. However, the storm created an opportunity for great collaboration between the Cayman Islands Government and the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). In the run […]
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29th September 2022
Prioritising foundational learning at the Transforming Education Summit
September is a crucial month in the calendar. In the UK, as in many countries, children have been going back to school. We have a new Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary. We have also seen the sad death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of His Majesty King Charles III. And last […]
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1st August 2022 Geneva, Switzerland
Disarmament blog: the NPT Review Conference
Finally, it’s here. The 10th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) begins today. National delegations, civil society representatives and the media are converging on New York from around the world for four weeks of intensive negotiations on some of the most sensitive, contentious and important issues for global peace and security. This RevCon […]
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29th July 2022
Global Education Summit: one year on
This time last year, leaders and ministers from all over the world were in London for the Global Education Summit. Co-hosted by the UK and Kenya, our mission was to raise as much money as possible for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the world’s largest fund dedicated to transforming education in lower-income countries. I […]