News story: CMA announces new Deputy Chief Economic Adviser

An Economics Director at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) since 2014, Ms Bon has led the economics on a number of competition investigations, including the retail banking market inquiry, Ladbrokes-Coral merger and Tesco-Booker merger.

She holds a PhD in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and a DEA in Economics and Political Science from Sciences Po.

Mike Walker, Chief Economic Adviser at the CMA, said:

I am delighted that Julie is going to be our new Deputy Chief Economic Adviser.

Julie brings a formidable array of talents to the role. She is an excellent economist, has deep institutional knowledge of the UK competition regime and is highly respected, both within and outside the organisation. I am sure she will be hugely successful in the role.




News story: Changes to the update charity details service

Updated: Added more information about the changes to the update charity details service.

All charities must keep their details up-to-date by law. We will be improving the current service so you can keep a regular check on your details, and update them when they change.

Because of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) we must let people know if any of their personal information is updated on the register of charities.

The simplest and quickest way of doing this is to email people when their data is updated.

We also use email to help trustees comply with charity law and run their charity effectively, by sending important regulatory alerts and updates.

We will be asking you to check that the register details for your trustees remain up to date. This includes adding any new trustees and their contact details. You also need to remove the details of any trustees who are no longer involved with your charity.

As part of service improvements we will ask that all trustees supply their email address, or confirm that they do not have one.

We are planning for the improved update charity details service to go live later this summer, at the same time as the 2018 annual return.




Press release: UK Government calls for more international support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Minister Mark Field and Joanna Roper have held talks with senior ministers in Dhaka and have called for greater humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya refugee community, particularly to help support the provision of education for refugees and host communities.

Over 706,364 people have fled from their homes in Burma’s Rakhine State into Bangladesh since August 2017, joining around 340,000 Rohingya who had previously fled.

In a visit to Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, where over a million refugees are living in crowded and unsafe refugee camps, Minister Field and Joanna Roper met refugee families and community leaders to learn about the persecution they suffered in Rakhine, and to hear about the challenges that life in the camps presents. They saw first-hand the damage caused by recent monsoon rains, and the work of the Government of Bangladesh and humanitarian agencies to protect the refugees.

They visited a UNICEF child-friendly site where they saw the efforts being made to keep young people safe and heard about efforts to provide education for refugee children. They also visited community and health centres, and met with a site management team to hear about the UK’s contribution to monsoon preparedness. Joanna Roper was invited to see a safe space for women at the camp, and heard about their experiences of displacement.

Tomorrow (1st July) in Dhaka, Minister Field and Joanna Roper will hold talks with senior ministers on the Rohingya crisis, and the wider situation in Bangladesh. They will hear how Bangladesh is making strong inroads into providing twelve years of quality education for women and girls, and visit a factory where they will speak to the female workforce about labour rights.

Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field MP said:

What I witnessed today was truly heartbreaking, and only redoubles my determination to support the refugees and keep up the pressure on the Burmese authorities.

I call on the international community to work with Bangladesh to step up support for the refugees, both during this monsoon season and in the longer term through the provision of education and livelihoods.

The UK remains a leading donor to the crisis, committing £129m since September last year to support the refugees and vulnerable host communities.

We will continue to use international pressure and dialogue with the Burmese authorities to make progress, including through our support for the EU sanctions measures announced on 25 June.

UK Special Envoy for Gender Equality Joanna Roper said:

The stories we heard in the camps of violence against the Rohingya in Burma are deeply disturbing, but I was moved by the efforts being made to provide support to women and girls in the camps, as well as the learning centres for Rohingya children, displaying a thirst for education despite all that they have endured at such a young age.

Girls’ education is the right thing to do: women and girls have the right to be educated, equal, empowered and safe. As the Foreign Secretary said at the UN Human Rights Council on 18 June, we must leave no girl behind and enable all girls to receive 12 years of quality education. That message is equally important for Rohingya girls to hear.

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Speech: International cooperation vital in tackling scourge of landmines

Thank you Mr President and thank you to ASG Zouev for you your briefing and through you I’d like to extend the UK’s appreciation for all the work carried out by UN staff working on mine action, especially in UNMISS.

Mr President, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report on the implementation of Resolution 2365. The United Kingdom reiterates its support for this resolution in which, for the first time, the Council calls for action against the lasting threat posed by landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices to civilians and peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel.

Twenty years after the adoption of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention landmines remain a major threat. As discussed in the Secretary-General’s report, landmines continue to kill and maim indiscriminately. It is civilians, and all too often children, that are the victims of these brutal weapons.

Although a great deal has been done and achieved to rid the world of these horrific weapons, it is clear that there is more to do. Mr President, the United Kingdom fully agrees that instruments of international law provide protection against the proliferation of explosive weapons. We remain fully committed to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which we chaired in 2017; the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention; and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. We call on any states not already party to these Conventions, to accede to these key international disarmament initiatives without delay. It is only when we stop producing these atrocious weapons, that people will stop being killed by them.

The UK will continue to uphold our own commitments under the Convention. We are working to clear landmines in the Falkland Islands, the only part of our territory that is contaminated with landmines. We are also proud to offer substantial international assistance. Last year, we tripled our funding for Mine Action and will spend $130 million over three years to tackle the humanitarian and development impact of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. This support is making 150 square kilometres of land safe, which will help 800,000 people, and ensure that every year, over 100,000 people – especially children – fully understand the dangers posed by landmines and how to avoid them.

Mr President, we welcome the significant role played by the UN and in particular, the UN’s focus on Strengthening National Capacity and the importance of Partnerships. In support of this, we provide funding to the Voluntary Trust Fund of the United Nations Mine Action Service and, through the UK military’s Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search branch, have supported the UN to develop the United Nations Improvised Explosive Device Disposal Standards. We welcome their completion and recognise the role they will play to ensure the safety of UN personnel who take part in demining activity.

As identified in the SG’s report, there is an appalling trend of increased use of improvised explosive devices by non-state actors. The United Kingdom supports Resolution 2370 which restricts terrorist actor’s access to weapons. We the call for more stringent national measures to deny terrorists ready access to weapons and explosive precursors. We also support the second UN General Assembly Resolution on Countering the Threat Posed by Improvised Explosive Devices.

Mr President, international cooperation is vital to tackle the criminal and terrorist networks facilitating and using IEDs. The UK is actively engaged in facilitating discussions amongst the international community on the topic of IEDs and Mine Action. The conference we hosted in May considered the challenges of realising a mine-free world, and looked at how we could overcome them. Much of the remaining clearance challenge stems from recent indiscriminate contamination by mines and IEDs. It is vital that we continue to assess the challenges ahead and collaboratively consider the means to meet these challenges. We must augment our efforts where we can so we can collectively tackle the scourge of landmines.

Thank you Mr President.




Press release: Troika statement on South Sudan on 29 June

The members of the Troika (the UK, US and Norway) commend the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) efforts to drive forward the South Sudan peace process, and take note of the Khartoum Declaration of Agreement Between Parties of the Conflict of South Sudan agreed between President Salva Kiir, Dr Riek Machar, and other opposition parties in Khartoum on 27 June. We welcome the Government of Sudan’s role in hosting the latest round of discussions.

We hope that the principles outlined in the declaration will help to build confidence between the parties and guide the difficult discussions that must follow to reach a credible and comprehensive wider agreement.

While we welcome the renewed commitment to a ceasefire, all sides must stop fighting now – that is the only secure foundation upon which any agreement can be built. The effects of the renewed commitment to a permanent ceasefire must be seen on the ground. It must allow the return of South Sudan’s refugees and displaced people, and the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance. It must lead to improved security for communities and an end to the horrendous abuses endured by civilians at the hands of security forces. “Self-monitoring” will not be sufficient to assess adherence to the ceasefire. The Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM) must continue to play a central role, with full access throughout the country and support in publishing timely reports.

The new ceasefire does not negate the need to respond to the continued and repeated serious violations by all sides of the December 2017 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). We will continue to seek measures at the UN Security Council to return the region to peace and security, including consequences for spoilers to the peace process. The international community therefore stands ready to support action by IGAD and the African Union to signal an end to impunity by delivering punitive measures against those responsible.

The parties must work to solidify this agreement. They need robust security and enforcement mechanisms, inclusion of a wide range of constituencies, and clear limits to executive power. There is a need for specific and realistic benchmarks throughout the transitional period, which lead to free and fair elections that allow for a peaceful transition in leadership in the most expeditious and responsible manner. The international community will encourage any oil arrangement to include transparency and accountability and ensure that new oil revenues directly benefit the South Sudanese people, rather than fuel more conflict.

All this will be critical to ensure that the failures of past agreements are not repeated and the confidence of international donors is secured.

We appreciate IGAD’s ongoing efforts and look forward to further progress in the next phase of talks.

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