8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
17th October 2024
OSLOBOĐENJE BEOGRADA
11th October 2024
Busting the gender myths – women and organised crime
21st January 2022 Kolkata
UK and India celebrate the Living Bridge of Cricket at Eden Gardens
‘Kuunganisha’ in the Swahili language means ‘bonding’. That’s exactly what I witnessed during the ‘Indo British Heritage Cup’ in Kolkata last month. The international cricket match was in its second edition and organised by the London-based Bengal Heritage Foundation (BHF). BHF works closely with British Council Kolkata and the Indo-British Scholars Association (IBSA) to preserve […]
Read more on UK and India celebrate the Living Bridge of Cricket at Eden Gardens | Reply
14th January 2022
My first year in Antananarivo
It is a year this week since I first arrived in Madagascar to head the excellent British Embassy team. So here are 10 of my many fond memories of these past 12 months. Presenting credentials in Madagascar and Comoros. Initially nerve-wracking, trying to ensure I didn’t make mistakes in formal French, but actually enjoyable. President Rajoelina […]
11th January 2022 Geneva, Switzerland
Disarmament blog: looking back and forwards
I was going to use this blog post to write about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, which was due to begin in New York on 4 January. Instead, the week before we were due to travel, it became clear that the Omicron situation in New York made it impossible for the UN to host […]
Read more on Disarmament blog: looking back and forwards | Reply (2)
10th January 2022 Skopje, North Macedonia
How can youth engage in the fight against climate changes and save the planet
Our planet is our home. We all know very well that we need to do something that will save our planet from climate changes and pollution. It’s very important to do this because we don’t have another planet. As I said we live under the same sky,we breathe the same air,we are growing and healing […]
Read more on How can youth engage in the fight against climate changes and save the planet | Reply
21st December 2021
Educating girls despite a global pandemic
What have the Prime Minister, Battersea Park and a camel in Pakistan got in common? They’ve all helped further the cause of girls’ education this year. Despite the disastrous impact of COVID-19 on children’s learning across the world, the UK has continued to support the education of the world’s most marginalised children – particularly girls […]
Read more on Educating girls despite a global pandemic | Reply
14th December 2021
Ending preventable deaths and health systems strengthening: launch
In my role, I am surrounded by strong women – leaders, experts and fighters for issues they believe in. It is sobering for me to realise that many of these women would not be where they are today if they had not been able to freely make choices about their own lives and, even more fundamentally, their own […]
Read more on Ending preventable deaths and health systems strengthening: launch | Reply
9th December 2021 Geneva
Human Rights Day 2021
On 10 December each year, we celebrate Human Rights Day. To many, this tradition marks a commemoration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the evolution of the international human rights architecture since 1948. For others, this day marks an annual moment to reflect on the global situation of human rights. […]
9th December 2021 Geneva
Introducing the European Human Rights Ambassadors: A Joint Blog
There is no doubt that COVID-19 has turned our world upside down. It has brought to the fore – and exacerbated – different forms of inequality. This is especially true amongst high-risk and vulnerable groups. Children and young people have been denied their education. Violence against women and LGBTI persons has increased. Democracy and the […]
Read more on Introducing the European Human Rights Ambassadors: A Joint Blog | Reply
1st December 2021
The United Kingdom’s enduring commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Joint message from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, FCDO Minister of State and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Baroness Goldie, MoD Minister of State for Defence Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of the United Kingdom. As we have often heard in […]
Read more on The United Kingdom’s enduring commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina | Reply
11th November 2021 Skopje, North Macedonia
Building resilience to disasters through adaptation and fellowship
“The Dwarves dug too greedily and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dum… shadow and flame..” JRR Tolkien. The Fellowship of the Ring. The most frequently used words in the recent local election campaigns in North Macedonia have been green, humane and sustainable development. At least on paper, the political […]
Read more on Building resilience to disasters through adaptation and fellowship | Reply