30th July 2020 Geneva, Switzerland
These are such strange days. We still don’t know if this will prove to be a painful but relatively short-lived episode of global distress or if we’re in this for the much longer haul. Will we look back on this as a defining moment of international cooperation to overcome one of the greatest health challenges […]
4th July 2017 Hanoi, Vietnam
Those of you who follow our UKinVietnam Facebook page closely will know that the UK believes strongly in the value of a vibrant and dynamic media. The media plays a vital role in providing reliable and accurate information, and giving people the opportunity to discuss and debate issues freely. That is why I’m proud of […]
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2nd March 2017
Freedom of expression, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international legal obligations, is one of the principles underlying the common ground upon which the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was built. From its earliest days the states of the OSCE (and its forerunner CSCE) were clear that this right […]
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3rd May 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Today is World Press Freedom Day. So it was appropriate that I spent Saturday evening at the Sri Lanka Inquirer awards ceremony, an event celebrating the culmination of British High Commission funded training and some of the best recent investigative journalism in Sri Lanka and Maldives. There is no freedom so worth defending as Freedom of […]
8th January 2016
I was proud to be one of a number of Consuls General, who visited the offices of Cumhuriyet on 6 January. We made the following statement, and handed over a signed text: “As representatives of EU consulates based in Istanbul, we wish for Turkish journalists across the whole political spectrum to be able to exercise […]
16th June 2015 Havana, Cuba
I’ve written before about how more internet access for more Cubans is likely to spur economic growth so the rollout of the internet to more parts of the country is welcome. New internet cafes have been opened – although they are still relatively expensive – and wifi is being provided in a few parks in Trinidad, […]
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12th June 2015 Havana, Cuba
Last week, we held the first #BritTalk in my house. In a fascinating presentation, Lord David Triesman, in Havana on business, shared his experiences of working with FIFA and Sepp Blatter when he was Chair of the Football Association. The audience was gripped by Lord Triesman’s tales of sleaze and abuse of power, by his […]
11th February 2015 Havana, Cuba
I was surprised to read recently that some Cuban academics are under the impression that British people can’t protest in front of No 10 Downing Street where the British Prime Minister lives. They can and they do. Almost every day people gather opposite Downing Street to air their opinions about one issue or another. They […]
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10th December 2014 London, UK
For Human Rights Day Minister of State for Europe, David Lidington, blogs on freedom of expression and the media overseas. Today is international Human Rights day; a day to celebrate the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. We should all take a moment to think about the rights that everyone in […]
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30th December 2013 Havana, Cuba
In July 2011 in a ‘Declaration on Bilateral Co-operation’ the British and Cuban governments agreed that human rights are a ‘priority for co-operation’. Both countries have recently been elected by the UN General Assembly to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for a three year term beginning on 1 January 2014. The HRC is the […]
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