Tag: Ukraine

23rd June 2014 Geneva, Switzerland

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by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

Human Rights and Carbohydrates

I wonder what Napoleon Bonaparte would have made of the Human Rights Council.  I suspect the man who said an army marches on its stomach would ask how on earth we all survive. By week 2, the typical Council diet goes something like this: Breakfast: coffee, and gummy bears (5 minutes). Lunch: a sandwich that […]

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10th June 2014 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

PSVI Global Summit in London – Time To Act

In May 2012, British Foreign Secretary William Hague launched the “Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative” or “PSVI” In short, PSVI is about preventing the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon in conflict. In so many conflict situations, it affects not only large numbers of women, but also men and children. However, the perpetrators of […]

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23rd May 2014 London, UK

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by David Lidington

Minister for Europe, London

We should trust Ukrainians to make the right choice in Sunday’s elections

Ukraine is trying to find democratic solutions to the challenges it faces, and the international community must give it time to do so Trust in the ability of people to make decisions about their own future is a fundamental tenet of democracy. On Sunday, the citizens of Ukraine go to the polls to elect a […]

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16th May 2014 London, UK

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by David Lidington

Minister for Europe, London

What’s life like for Crimea’s Tatars now?

With the eyes of the world focused on events in south-east Ukraine, it would have been easy to miss what has been happening in Crimea in the weeks since its illegal annexation by the Russian Federation. Take the case of Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev. He has led an extraordinary life. He was exiled as […]

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9th May 2014

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by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Two Elections, One Day, One Europe

Britain and Sweden see eye to eye on the implications of the Ukraine crisis. Here’s a translation of the article I wrote for Swedish national newspaper Dagens Industri today. In less than three weeks’ time, the people of Ukraine go to the polls in Presidential elections that will determine the future direction of their country. According […]

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28th April 2014

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by Jonathan Allen

Former Ambassador to Bulgaria

Russia’s Actions Make the Case for a Western-facing Bulgaria

The Tsar Liberator faces the National Assembly. Newly cleaned, with touches of gold, the statue of the Tsar leading his troops in liberation of Bulgaria is impressive. But his watchful stance and position opposite parliament, the symbol of Bulgarian democracy, brings with it some ambiguity, brought into sharper focus by the situation in Ukraine. The […]

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25th April 2014 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

European security under new scrutiny

I last commented publicly on the subject of European security at the Institute for Strategic Studies in Krakow in May 2013. A lot has happened since then. The crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea is of course the most significant development. I wrote recently about how Russia’s actions are completely indefensible and what […]

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2nd April 2014

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Why Ukraine matters and what happens next

Heavily armed Russian troops seize Crimea, part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine with a population similar to Latvia and an area larger than Israel.  President Putin says Crimea “has always been an inalienable part” of Russian territory; and announces its permanent annexation. How should we respond? I’ve just returned to Istanbul from four weeks […]

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24th March 2014

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by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

“Digging for truth: the uses and abuses of language”

I was honoured to be invited to the Nobel Museum on Friday by my friend and colleague, the Irish Ambassador, James Carroll, to take part in a celebration of the life and work of the Nobel prize winning poet Seamus Heaney. The poem I chose to read was “Digging”, in which the young poet expresses […]

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