The UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on LGBT+ rights, Lord Nick Herbert, visited Argentina this week, meeting with counterparts in the Argentinian Government and with civil society organisations. LGBT+ information app, QUIR, was launched at the British Embassy Buenos Aires by local civil society organisation Kidz. This trip is part of Lord Herbert’s activity this year to galvanise ambitious action on LGBT+ rights ahead of the Safe To Be Me conference in London.

The UK and Argentina work together closely on LGBT+ rights. As co-chairs of the Equal Rights Coalition – an intergovernmental body consisting of 42 member states, multilateral organisations, and around 120 civil society organisations – the UK and Argentina lead global action on this issue.

Throughout 2022, Lord Herbert is visiting countries in every corner of the world to drum up support for LGBT+ rights and galvanise ambitious action ahead of this June’s Safe To Be Me Conference. The UK will work with countries on their own path to equality, offering support to create the conditions for greater freedoms and equality.

This week, Lord Herbert met with Cecilia Meirovich, Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Alba Rueda, Subsecretary of Diversity Policies at the Ministry of Women, Genders and Diversity.
Lord Herbert hosted 80 guests from civil society and the LGBT+ community at the British Embassy in Buenos Aires to launch QUIR – an application designed by civil society organisation Kidz that provides information on LGBT+-friendly local services. According to their creators, QUIR was born out of the need to find a safe space where LGBT+ consumers can access accommodation, cultural and recreational activities, personal care, health professionals, gastronomy, bars, nightlife, spas and other leisure that guarantee a hate-free experience.

PM Special Envoy Lord Herbert said:

The UK and Argentina work closely together to promote LGBT+ rights internationally. I welcome the opportunity to meet partners from across Argentina to discuss progress on this vital issue. We have been discussing the Equal Rights Coalition, which the UK has co-chaired with Argentina since 2019, and which has made great progress in mobilising more countries and pushing for greater global action. This June’s Safe To Be Me Conference in London aims to be a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBT+ equality and I look forward to welcoming our Argentinian partners to the event.

Macs Zimmermann, entrepeneur and creartor of the QUIR app, said:

As an LGBTIQ person, choosing where to go out, consulting a health professional or looking for a place to stay has always been a complex situation. Inappropriate comments, discriminatory treatment, being denied access or thrown out for no apparent reason, and even physical violence are some of the ways in which LGBTIQ people are violated. It is very important for me to have the possibility to develop a project like this, and to be able to present it to Lord Herbert at the Embassy is an immense privilege. It is my deepest wish that this product gets into the hands of all those who need it and can make the lives of people in the community a little easier and more pleasant, guaranteeing them an experience free from mistreatment, discrimination or harassment.

Andre Rivas, President of Asociación Familias Diversas Argentina said:

We are facing a key moment to unite international efforts to advance the rights of LGBTI+ people globally. For this reason, we are focused on the fundamental issues of tackling violence and discrimination, advancing legal protections, ensuring inclusive access to public services and guaranteeing decent employment for our community.

The Safe To Be Me Global Equality Conference is taking place in London from 29 June to 1 July 2022. It will be the UK Government’s first global LGBT+ conference and will bring together governments, businesses, parliamentarians and civil society to achieve a step change in global equality. The conference is focused on 4 overarching aims:

• Tackling violence and discrimination by bringing communities and leaders together to agree on new plans and how to target funding to apply these globally

• Advancing legal protections and decriminalisation by accelerating progress on legislative reform and creating the conditions for equality

• Ensuring inclusive access to public services by enabling delegates to share lessons and make commitments on key issues such as access to healthcare and HIV/AIDS prevention

• Making the business and economic case for equality by identifying best practice, strengthening advocacy and supporting businesses to take up the mantle of change, including ensuring international standards on LGBT+ inclusive practices are upheld

Thank you, Mr President.

I would like to thank SRSG La Lime for your briefing this morning, and for all the work you and your team are doing.

Mr President, I would like to make three brief points today:

Firstly, the complex security, health and economic challenges currently faced by Haiti can only be resolved by unified support for Haitian-led solutions. In this regard, the United Kingdom remains firm in its belief that support to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti remains critical, especially the Mission’s on-going efforts to facilitate a unified approach to these multifaceted challenges.

We look forward to the independent assessment of BINUH’s mandate as we approach the renewal in July.

Secondly, the persistent political gridlock is deeply troubling, as is the continued impact this is having on the Haitian people.

We encourage efforts underway to secure political consensus, for a pathway to free, fair and credible elections, and for all sides to work constructively in support of a peaceful, democratic solution for the Haitian people. It is incumbent upon all of us, as Haiti’s international partners, to do likewise in supporting a Haitian-led solution.

Thirdly, we are concerned by the deteriorating security and human rights situation – particularly the increase in kidnappings, indiscriminate criminal violence, and instances of human trafficking.

The UK will continue to support work with both the Government of Haiti and the international community to address these challenges. Criminal armed groups and perpetrators of human rights abuses not only jeopardise the lives of Haitians, but risk undermining the prospect of real political progress.

The assassination of President Moïse was an abhorrent act, and we maintain our call for the perpetrators of this crime to be brought to justice.

Mr. President, we remain deeply worried by the humanitarian situation in the country. Covid-19 has compounded economic and health threats, which have been exacerbated further by the devastating earthquake last year. This has particularly impacted women and children, increasing their vulnerabilities and the threats to their economic and health welfare, so we welcome the outcome of the donor’s conference this week.

Finally, the UK encourages all actors to work constructively and cooperatively with the Haitian authorities to find solutions to the root causes of these crises, and to support the development and advancement of the Haitian people.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr President.

I would like to thank SRSG La Lime for your briefing this morning, and for all the work you and your team are doing.

Mr President, I would like to make three brief points today:

Firstly, the complex security, health and economic challenges currently faced by Haiti can only be resolved by unified support for Haitian-led solutions. In this regard, the United Kingdom remains firm in its belief that support to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti remains critical, especially the Mission’s on-going efforts to facilitate a unified approach to these multifaceted challenges.

We look forward to the independent assessment of BINUH’s mandate as we approach the renewal in July.

Secondly, the persistent political gridlock is deeply troubling, as is the continued impact this is having on the Haitian people.

We encourage efforts underway to secure political consensus, for a pathway to free, fair and credible elections, and for all sides to work constructively in support of a peaceful, democratic solution for the Haitian people. It is incumbent upon all of us, as Haiti’s international partners, to do likewise in supporting a Haitian-led solution.

Thirdly, we are concerned by the deteriorating security and human rights situation – particularly the increase in kidnappings, indiscriminate criminal violence, and instances of human trafficking.

The UK will continue to support work with both the Government of Haiti and the international community to address these challenges. Criminal armed groups and perpetrators of human rights abuses not only jeopardise the lives of Haitians, but risk undermining the prospect of real political progress.

The assassination of President Moïse was an abhorrent act, and we maintain our call for the perpetrators of this crime to be brought to justice.

Mr. President, we remain deeply worried by the humanitarian situation in the country. Covid-19 has compounded economic and health threats, which have been exacerbated further by the devastating earthquake last year. This has particularly impacted women and children, increasing their vulnerabilities and the threats to their economic and health welfare, so we welcome the outcome of the donor’s conference this week.

Finally, the UK encourages all actors to work constructively and cooperatively with the Haitian authorities to find solutions to the root causes of these crises, and to support the development and advancement of the Haitian people.

Thank you.

The papers, Honey authenticity: the opacity of analytical reports – part 1 defining the problem; and part 2, forensic evaluative reporting as a potential solution are based on a story that appeared in the UK media in November 2020, Supermarket brands of honey are ‘bulked out with cheap sugar syrups made from rice and corn’ after which the Food Standards Agency asked the Government Chemist to investigate the methods that underpinned the story.

The papers, co-authored by Professor Duncan Burns, Emeritus Professor at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS), Queen’s University Belfast, and Prof. Michael Walker who also led the investigation at the time, as Head of the Government Chemist programme at LGC – address the complex composition of honey, and how an interpretive system used in forensic science could help to improve evaluation of analytical findings and assessment of their strength, which, in turn, can help to make authentication of honey more robust.

Summing up the papers, Professor Walker said, “The composition of honey, a complex natural product, continues to challenge analytical methods attempting to determine its authenticity particularly in the face of sophisticated adulteration, despite ongoing research.

“The analytical work behind the original news story threw up some interesting questions. Our assessment was informed by consensus views in the scientific literature confirming that multiple approaches are needed to assess honey authenticity. This inevitably leads to complex data. The summary opinion of the reporting laboratory in each of the Certificates of Analysis that were examined was unequivocally that the samples were non-compliant. However, our critical examination of the data revealed a much more nuanced picture from which it is currently difficult to draw such a definitive opinion. Our proposed solution of ‘evaluative reporting’, would see the acceptance of a formalised ‘likelihood ratio’ (LR) thought process used in forensic science for evaluation of findings and assessment of their strength. In the absence of consensus on techniques for honey authenticity, adoption of evaluative reporting will allow objective assessment, with equity to all, and a better basis to identify and address fraud.”.

Following the Government Chemist research on honey authenticity testing, Defra will continue to work with the FSA and key interested parties to ensure that honey on sale in the UK meets our high standards. Honey is a complex natural product but consumers should rightly expect it to be authentic; collaboration with recognised experts and key partners will ensure effective tools are in place to detect fraudulent practices.

For more information about the work of the Government Chemist please contact: