9th September 2013
It is always good for a diplomat to be reminded that his job is to make a difference. The public image of diplomats too often remains that of the stereotypical cocktail party, and the focus on protocol for its own sake. I am glad to say that that is largely outdated. British ambassadors are appointed […]
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3rd September 2013
One of the highlights of the United Nations General Assembly in September will be an event hosted by Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to launch a high level political and ambitious declaration on the need to keep up the international momentum on tackling sexual violence in conflict. This event follows […]
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19th August 2013
A holiday always provides a useful opportunity for a diplomat to look at his posting from a different perspective. My leave away from Rome this August has been no exception. While Pope Francis has been working hard in Rome and Brazil, I have been in Slovakia, and on 15 August I visited the Slovak pilgrimage […]
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12th July 2013
I spent part of this week in London looking at the interaction between diplomacy and faith. In particular, I attended one of the Foreign Office’s flagship series of debates, ‘The Jubilee Dialogues’, which bring together leading thinkers to discuss some of the major drivers behind transformation in societies across the world. The subject of the […]
4th July 2013
Trafficking in human beings – for forced labour, for sex, for their organs – has been with us as long as one human has exploited another. That is no reason why we should resign ourselves to its existence in the 21st century. The British government sees tackling modern slavery as an important global priority. And yet, […]
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26th June 2013
The European Union – as an institution, and as individual member states – is often criticised for not doing enough to protect and promote freedom of religion and belief around the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is very clear on the issue, we are often reminded. And yet, the critics say, amongst the […]
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17th June 2013
In an exchange of letters on the eve of the Lough Erne G8 Summit, Pope Francis and Prime Minister David Cameron have shared detailed analysis of what needs to be done to tackle the economic and political challenges faced by the world today. The Prime Minister took the initiative to inform the Pope on 5 […]
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10th June 2013
Last week I wrote about plans for sustaining global momentum on development and against poverty after 2015. 2015 feels a long way away. And yet in the last few days we have seen, very practically, how government, civil society and faith can come together to make a difference now. Speaking on 5 June, Pope Francis […]
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4th June 2013
Can we be the generation to eliminate extreme poverty from the earth? This is the challenge set by the Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, co-chaired at the request of the UN Secretary General by the Presidents of Liberia and Indonesia, and the Prime Minister of the United […]
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27th May 2013
What are governments for? At its most fundamental, the role of government is to keep people and communities safe. Right until the modern era, provision of security was seen as the prime function of government. It still is an essential priority, and it is no coincidence that assuring national security remains one of the over-riding […]
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