24th November 2015 Havana, Cuba
To all the men out there, this blog is for you. Please don’t close the window, tab or page. Don’t look away. Keep reading and click on the links. This isn’t a women’s issue, it’s a men’s issue. You need to understand it. And then do something about it. Violence against women is horrible, brutal, […]
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2nd November 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
“The human right to freedom is irrevocable. No person’s freedom can be restricted except by a court decision or in cases and procedures determined by law” is one of the guarantees of the Macedonian constitution of 1991. Unlike British history, Macedonian history does not have its own historical declarations of human and civil rights, however […]
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12th October 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
Migration, Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI) was established in 2004. It is a unique mechanism dealing with these three areas in the Region. Our motto is to act as advocate and be catalyst of the Western Balkans Six interests and responses to the challenges related to our field of competence. Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and […]
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28th September 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
The UK Civil Service doesn’t have an official motto – but if it did, it would almost certainly be: “speak truth unto power”. It’s a maxim that’s in the blood of good civil servants, even if they know that it won’t make their lives any easier. The best politicians learn to cherish civil service advice […]
14th September 2015 Havana, Cuba
15 September marks the UN International Day of Democracy, a day on which Governments are encouraged to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy. The UN General Assembly resolution establishing the day encourages all member states to bring the day to the awareness of their citizens. The resolution also reaffirms the […]
29th July 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
Having in mind the recent political developments in the country, it has never been more important to deconstruct the meaning of the term Public interest. It seems that the term has various meanings, depending on who you ask, and whose interests are on the line. In general, public interest involves matters, or policies that affect […]
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10th October 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Guest blog by Police Sergeant Natalie RANAHAN and Police Constable Steve WARDLE, British Bobbies visiting the Sziget Festival, organised by the Hungarian Police and the British Embassy. As police officers, both of us have a number of years experience within the Operations Department and in particular Support Group. This involves a variety of duties including the policing […]
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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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5th February 2013
This time last year I wrote a blog about freedom of the media in Ukraine reporting on the latest press freedom index released by the international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. So I was intrigued to see Reporters without Borders publish their 2013 World Press Freedom Index recently. Since I arrived in Turkey a few months ago, Turkish journalists […]
17th May 2012
On the eve of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) I’m delighted to meet in Kyiv old friend Clare Dimyon, a British human rights activist whom I last met in June 2009. At that time, Clare was visiting Ukraine to coincide with the Second National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) conference in […]