Thank you, Mr President, and my thanks to USG Lacroix and His Excellency the Foreign Minister of Mauritania for their briefings. I want to begin by paying tribute to the forces of the G5 Sahel, to UN peacekeepers serving in MINUSMA, to international troops deployed in Operation Barkhane, and to all those working to bring peace and security to the people of the Sahel.

Our thoughts are with the families of those who have paid the ultimate price in the service of this cause, and with the innocent civilians who continue to suffer the impact of the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel. Just last weekend three attacks by jihadist armed groups in northern and eastern Burkina Faso led to the loss of over 50 lives. The UK strongly condemns all such attacks, and calls for all parties to conflict to respect international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of civilians.

Mr President, since this Council last discussed the situation in the Sahel, Covid-19 has created new challenges to bringing about stability and development in the region. It will increase pressure on limited state resources and risks diverting international attention away from tackling the drivers of instability. In response, the United Kingdom is supporting governments and our humanitarian implementation partners in the Sahel to manage escalating health and humanitarian needs.

But we recognise that the secondary impacts of Covid-19 will also hit these countries hard, and so we are also helping the governments of the region to address the longer-term, socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. This is in addition to the $665 million the United Kingdom is contributing to global efforts to develop vaccines, treatments and testing for Covid-19, and to the IMF to support vulnerable economies.

In this highly challenging context, we commend the efforts of the G5 Sahel nations and their partners to address security concerns and tackle cross-border threats. We welcome the increased operational output and improved capabilities of the Joint Force, and the positive trajectory of improving coordination with regional and international forces.

The United Kingdom is proud to be supporting efforts to stabilise the Sahel through our deployment to MINUSMA later this year, through our non-combat assistance to Operation BARKHANE, and our ongoing contribution to the EU Training Mission in Mali. We are also supporting the G5 Sahel Joint Force itself, with UK bilateral contributions so far totalling $3.4 million, in addition to our contributions through other organisations. We would welcome all partners who have committed to support the Force to deliver their pledges in full.

Mr President, I would like to reiterate that there can be no sustainable peace and security in the Sahel without the protection and promotion of human rights, and compliance with international human humanitarian law. The UK welcomes the progress made in implementing the human rights compliance framework for the G5 Sahel Joint Force, but we would underscore that all reports of human rights violations and abuses – whether by violent extremist groups, “self-defence” militias or state security forces – need to be addressed. This is essential not only to prevent human suffering, but to prevent impunity, strengthen the social contract between citizens and the state, and avoid creating grievances that fuel further violence. We urge all G5 governments to ensure that any allegations of violations committed by their security forces are thoroughly and transparently investigated, and that all perpetrators are brought to justice.

The United Kingdom is also concerned by the increasing pressures on humanitarian access in the region. It is critical that all parties respect the neutrality and impartiality of humanitarian actors, and facilitate unimpeded access to ensure that emergency assistance reaches those in need.

In conclusion, Mr President, the United Kingdom will continue to play its part, working with the UN, the G5 Sahel states and all our partners across the region, in pursuit of peace, stability, sustainable development and justice for the people of the Sahel.

Thank you, Mr President.

Mr President, let me just say that I want to thank, first of all, the Force Commanders for addressing us today and in particular, through you, thank your troops for the work they they’re doing to help protect civilians and support stability in some of the toughest environments in the world. And I want to join my colleagues in paying tribute to the 25 peacekeepers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the field this year, including those who lost their lives recently in MINUSMA because of COVID-19.

COVID-19 has, of course, posed a range of additional challenges in every mission setting. And I very much welcomed your comments in the briefing on how the missions are rising to meet these new challenges and how we as individual Member States and the Security Council, as well as, of course, through our UN Headquarters, can best support you. The crucial challenge is how to continue supporting the safety and security of our peacekeepers while ensuring they can fulfill their important work and the mandate giving them their important work to protect civilians and provide stability in conflict-torn environments. We can’t afford to let up on either imperative.

While we address these pressing challenges, we mustn’t lose sight of the longer term commitments we’ve all made as part of the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, reforming peacekeeping to make it fit for the 21st century. A4P can continue to provide a solid basis for ensuring our UN peacekeeping missions can and do fulfill all that we ask, even now, in these challenging circumstances.

Firstly, a central priority when it comes to those reforms must be enhancing planning, improving the collection and use of data across the board in order to support evidence-based decision making, both here at HQ and throughout the mission settings. This will help improve the analysis and recommendations provided to members.

Connected with this is the issue of performance and the provision of better data on both outstanding performance and underperformance. We look forward to the promised rollout of the UN’s new integrated performance policy framework later this year to address the performance of uniformed and civilian peacekeepers and overall mission performance, as well as to enhance transparency and accountability.

Particularly in this 20th anniversary year of Resolution 1325, we should also continue pursuing measures to increase the numbers of uniformed women peacekeepers and ensure their full effective, meaningful participation at every level.

And as the Council heard recently in our annual debate on the protection of civilians, civilians continue to bear the brunt of conflict worldwide. And so we should keep strengthening delivery of protection of civilians mandates. This should include full implementation of the Peacekeeping-Intelligence policy, as well as the revised DPO PoC policy. And we should continue to implement the latest iteration on the action plan on the safety and security of peacekeepers.

Finally, we should keep working to smooth the transition from peacekeeping to peace building in settings such as Sudan, increasing our support for the Peacebuilding Fund and ensuring a joined-up approach across the UN system, donors, and other stakeholders.

Like others, Mr President, I’ve got a few questions. May I, first of all, and I think this is relevant to all missions, but I address it, if I might, to the UNMISS Force Commander. Of course, we want to ensure that everything possible is done to ensure the safety and security of all peacekeepers in the field, particularly with respect to illness and injury, but we’re concerned the impact COVID-19 is having on Medevac pathways. Do you have confidence, Force Commanders, that the clinical pathways in place provide an adequate level of assurance? And if not, what can any of us do to help unblock issues or support?

Secondly, we have noted the impact of COVID-19 on rotations with potential consequences on mission effectiveness and welfare. Bearing in mind that in several mission environments, the virus may reach a peak in the coming months, what are your expectations for the period following the 30th of June when the freeze on rotations is due to be lifted? What are the implications for mandate delivery in the second half of the year?

Thirdly, a question again for the UNMISS Force Commander, but it’s relevant to all: We have continuing concerns about sexual and gender-based violence in several missions’ area of operation, including, for instance, recent violence in South Sudan. I know my Indonesian colleague asked about this, but I was wondering if you could comment on how situational awareness and intelligence can be used in the field, both to prevent and deter SGBV and to respond to emergencies.

And finally, again, the UNMISS Force Commander: I would just like to ask for your assessment of the impact the COVID-19 is likely to have on rates of voluntary departures of civilians from PoC sites and whether do you expect a significant impact of COVID-19 on how the force divides its resources between static and mobile protection tasks?

Let me just say that the UK is very much looking forward to the deployment of our 250-strong long-range reconnaissance forces, of course, under MINUSMA command, late this year.

Thank you very much.

The bid is the latest step by the Foreign Office to forge deeper relations with regional blocs beyond the UK’s doorstep, and boost ties with international forums that will lead to new opportunities across trade, education, science and security.

The application, which would give the UK high-level access to ASEAN reinforced by deeper practical cooperation, alongside countries including the United States, China and India, was signed by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said:

As Asia grows in importance, Global Britain will cooperate even more closely with our friends in the region. We aim to boost trade by joining the Trans-Pacific trade agreement. And by becoming one of ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, we can strengthen our ability to cooperate across the Indo-Pacific region, as a force for good, on everything from climate change to regional stability.

The UK is already one of the few countries with a dedicated Ambassador to ASEAN, an embassy or High Commission in all ten Member States and an extensive cooperation programme on topics spanning terrorism, climate change and COVID-19.

UK Ambassador to ASEAN, Jon Lambe, said:

We have been a close partner of ASEAN for over 40 years, over which time we have worked side-by-side across political, security, economic and social and cultural issues.

In my role as Ambassador to the organisation, every day I see how the UK is being a force for good in the region.

Our bid to become a Dialogue Partner is part of our long-standing and continued commitment to ASEAN.

Dialogue Partner status would further build the UK’s strong relationships across the ASEAN region and reflects the strength and breadth of the UK offer to the organisation.

The status would facilitate further practical cooperation across key sectors as well as allow the UK to attend annual ASEAN Summits and ministerial meetings.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN is a regional community that has brought together the ten Southeast Asian countries around a set of common values and principles, as well as seeking to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development through joint endeavours.

Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook

Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Email newsdesk@fco.gov.uk

It means that David Noakes, who has been convicted of money laundering and the manufacture and sale of unlicensed medicines, will face the seizure of his aircraft, boat, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and UK and Guernsey bank accounts.

The outcome follows a four-year investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which was assisted by the London Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART) in investigating Noakes’s complex financial dealings.

Noakes, the owner of Guernsey-based Immuno Biotech, served a 15-month prison sentence from November 2018 after pleading guilty to 4 charges relating to the manufacture, sale and supply of an unlicensed medicine (GcMAF), and one count of money laundering.

Globulin component Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF) was a product made from human blood, sold by a Guernsey-based company called Immuno Biotech, headed by Noakes.

Noakes advertised GcMAF as a ‘miracle cure’ for a range of conditions including cancer, HIV and autism, with no scientific basis to support these medicinal claims. The court heard Noakes made over £13 million from the sale of GcMAF between 2011 and 2015.

GcMAF was sold through various European websites which UK buyers would have had no difficulty accessing. Production was stopped in January 2015, as a result of the MHRA’s investigation, and a seizure of more than 10,000 vials took place, which Noakes could have sold for £5.5 million. The MHRA also issued a warning to the public against purchasing GcMAF.

The £1,349,400.48 confiscation order means that the identified assets will be realised and paid to the Home Office for distribution under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 incentivisation scheme.

MHRA Head of Enforcement, Andy Morling, said:

Today’s confiscation marks the successful conclusion of a complex, four-year investigation by the MHRA Enforcement Group.

Our investigation team has worked relentlessly to bring David Noakes and his associates to justice and today’s decision to deny him the proceeds of his criminality is welcome. Noakes put public health at risk through the unlicensed manufacturing and sale of GcMAF products, which were not fit for human consumption or for use as medicines.

To get the best advice in relation to your health, visit your GP or other health professional, get a correct diagnosis and always buy medicines from a legitimate high street or registered pharmacy.

To stay safe when buying medicines online, always buy from a registered website. Avoid dodgy online providers, suspicious URLs and beware of unrealistic claims which can expose you to unlicensed medicines, or even identity theft and fraud.

Patient safety is our highest priority and we will continue to track,prosecute and remove assets from criminals who exploit public health for their own gain.