27th February 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Much has been written and said recently about the Hungarian government’s relationship with the local Jewish communities. I don’t want to address that here. Rather I wanted to offer some thoughts about Holocaust remembrance more generally. The UK took over the Chair of IHRA this week. That’s the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. IHRA is a 31 member international body, […]
30th January 2014
Unsurprisingly, most Australians don’t know much about the Falkland Islands, so visiting Legislative Assembly member Mike Summers faced lots of questions during his trip to Melbourne this week. At 51 degrees south, it’s further south than Australia, and is often perceived as being almost polar. But maps can be deceptive. In the northern hemisphere the […]
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23rd January 2014 Havana, Cuba
Next week the CELAC Summit will be held in Havana and the Cuban government will be in charge of finalising the language in the Summit declarations. Inevitably there will be one on the Falkland Islands and I suspect it will ignore the referendum held on the Islands last year when 99.8% voted in favour of […]
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16th January 2014 Washington DC, USA
Ever drive onto the Beltway outside Washington DC, or the equivalent in your home town, during rush-hour and wish there were a couple more lanes available? The residents of Nay Pyi Taw, Burma, probably don’t share your concerns. The tiny handful of in-bound motorists has TEN lanes to choose from – as do their out-bound […]
7th January 2014 Brasilia, Brazil
Located in the state of Bahia, Salvador is a Brazilian city whose population is mostly composed of afro-descendants. These afro-descendant women have always had a distinct position either as head of the household or working informally. It is reasonable to say that they were the first individual entrepreneurs in Brazil. For a long time, […]
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10th December 2013 Budapest, Hungary
Guest blog by Deputy Head of Mission Theresa Bubbear The UN General Assembly designated 10 December Human Rights Day in 1950. This is an important day for the UK as a member of the UN Human Rights Coucil and a global champion of human rights, which underpin prosperity and security. We mark the occasion at home and […]
10th December 2013 Brasilia, Brazil
The following is a guest blog by Louise de Sousa, Head of the Foreign Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Department. I’m looking forward to arriving in Brazil tomorrow, the day after International Human Rights Day, for my first visit to discuss human rights issues since I left the Embassy after three happy years in 1997. […]
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10th December 2013 London, UK
As we mark Human Rights Day and celebrate the UK’s re-election to the UN Human Rights Council, it is worth reflecting upon how regional organisations can reinforce and complement the UN’s role in promoting and protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Last week I attended the annual Ministerial Council of the Organisation […]
10th December 2013
It is 63 years today since the UN General Assembly established 10 December as Human Rights Day, to draw attention to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And 20 years since the United Nations Human Rights Office was established. This year Human Rights Day is marked by the theme of “20 YEARS: WORKING FOR YOUR […]
2nd December 2013 Havana, Cuba
As I travel around Cuba talking to people about the United Kingdom, I am constantly surprised by how little many Cubans really know about my country. This blog is an attempt to put that right. Here are nine things you probably don’t know about the UK: 1. There is free education in the UK. The large […]