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Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Part of UK in Sweden

5th June 2013

The Golden Thread

You might assume from the title that this is going to be about mathematical theory or science fiction or indeed sewing. But the “golden thread” in question is our Prime Minister’s description of the link between peace, good governance and open societies and economies as part of new thinking on poverty reduction through wealth creation.

The golden thread is a strong focus of the High Level Panel Report submitted to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week.

The Report, catchily entitled “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustainable Development”, is a road map for tackling the world’s biggest social and economic problems by 2030.

The High Level Panel – co-chaired by Prime Minister David Cameron with the Indonesian President and Liberian President, with Gunilla Carlsson as one of the key participants– was asked to set out proposals for a new set of UN objectives for 2015-2030 to replace the existing Millennium Development Goals.

The Report says we can and must eliminate extreme poverty by 2030. Five key themes were identified:

  1. Leave No One Behind: The MDGs aimed to halve extreme poverty (defined as people earning less than $1.25 a day). The High Level Panel report proposes ending poverty by 2030. It also proposes eliminating preventable infant deaths and reducing maternal mortality even further.
  2. Put Sustainable Development at the Core: For decades, the environmental and development agendas have been separate. The report brings them together. This means tackling climate change, and making patterns of consumption and production more sustainable.
  3. Transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth: Growth is the only long term solution to end poverty, meaning a much greater focus on promoting jobs through business and entrepreneurship, infrastructure, education and skills, and trade.
  4. Build peace and effective, open and accountable institutions for all: Peace and good governance are not optional extras. Responsive and legitimate institutions should encourage the rule of law, property rights, freedom of speech and the media, open political choice and access to justice.
  5. Forge a new Global Partnership. Poverty eradication is not just about national governments. Businesses, community groups, donors, local governments and others all need to work together to see the eradication of extreme poverty.

The British government hopes the Report will be embraced by the UN family and serve as the basis for agreeing a new development agenda that will succeed the current Millennium Development Goals when they expire in 2015.

About Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially. He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide…

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially.

He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide range of political and security roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Paul joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993 as Desk Officer for Bosnia. As part of this role he was also Private Secretary to EU negotiator Lord Owen and his representative on Bosnia Contact Group.

His first foreign posting was to Paris in 1995-99 as Second Secretary Political. He was Private Secretary to the Ambassador and latterly part of the UK delegation to the Kosovo Rambouillet negotiations. Then he returned to London as Head of the Kosovo Policy Team, leading work on post-conflict policy in the EU, NATO, UN and G8.

Before his second overseas posting to New York in 2005, Paul held a variety of other EU policy and security appointments in London, such as Head of European Defence Section between 2000-01 and Head of Security Policy Department between 2002-04.

As Head of the Political Section in UKMIS New York, he advised on major policy issues for the UK on the Security Council and the UN World Summit, including the UK EU Presidency in 2005.

Paul returned to London in 2008 as Director, International Security for the FCO. He was responsible for policy on UN, NATO, European Security, arms control and disarmament, human rights and good governance.

Paul was British Ambassador to Sweden from August 2011 to August 2015 and then was Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO.

He was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security affairs from 2017 to January 2020 and became Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020.

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