COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma and Austrian Minister for Climate Action Leonore Gewessler met on 30 June 2021 in Vienna. They released the following statement:

Today, with just four months to go until the COP26 summit, we agreed our determination to drive forward multilateral collaboration as well as domestic action for building the conditions for success at Glasgow. COP26 will be a crucial moment for demonstrating our collective commitment to keeping 1.5 degrees within reach, guided by the latest available science, and reaffirming our commitment to the Paris Agreement.

We resolved that an ‘all of society’ inclusive approach to climate action is essential for the success of COP26 and we were both pleased to attend the Austrian World Summit this week. We jointly congratulate the efforts of all those involved in organising the Summit, which emphasised the clear need for the Public and Private sector to collaborate in parallel with Civil Society, in order to achieve an ambitious and inclusive outcome at COP26.

In this context, we also discussed the urgent need to scale up climate finance going towards the $100bn goal to mobilise financial flows for both mitigation and adaptation. We noted the positive climate finance announcements from the G7, and the need to build on this momentum, including increasing adaptation finance, leading up to COP26. Likewise, we agreed that private finance will be instrumental in aligning and delivering financial flows for climate action in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Crucial to this is establishing global reporting standards, and to this end we agreed that more investors should disclose in line with TCFD.

Finally, we agreed to continue working closely together to push for ambitious climate action both domestically and internationally, and reaffirmed our commitment to achieving a strong negotiated outcome at COP26, including through finalising the outstanding elements of the Paris Rulebook, in order to ensure full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Thank you, Madam President.

We welcome the High Commissioner’s report on Venezuela. We repeat our call for OHCHR to be given unrestricted access to the entire country. Operating restrictions must also be lifted for civil society actors.

Between 2019 and 2021, the High Commissioner made 43 recommendations on Venezuela. None has been fully complied with. In many instances the situation has not improved and serious concerns remain.

These recommendations go to the heart of issues that impact the lives of ordinary Venezuelans: including their right to life, health, access to water, and right to a fair trial. The people of Venezuela not only deserve, but are entitled to their human rights. It is crucial they are implemented.

We support a peaceful resolution to the democratic crisis and continue to call for free and fair elections.

We support all those human rights defenders and journalists who are standing up for human rights, good government, the rule of law, and highlighting practices that are destroying the environment in Venezuela, including in the Arco Minero del Orinoco.

· With recent announcements of reform in mind, what is your assessment of whether and how Venezuela’s judiciary can contribute towards a better human rights environment?

· Which issues present the greatest challenges to persuading the Maduro regime to fully implement all of your recommendations?

Thank you.

This call for bids is for project proposals that focus on tackling modern slavery (as defined by the ILO forced labour indicators) in Malaysia, especially in relation to migrant workers employed in the manufacturing sector.

Objectives

We are particularly interested in project proposals that:

• improve co-operation between policy makers, civil society and the private sector, helping raise standards and enforcement of those standards
• improve third-party auditing and due diligence within supply chains
• strengthen support networks for migrant workers affected by modern slavery

Projects overview

Projects will run from August 2021 to January 2022, with no expectation of funding beyond this period. See budget guidance (ODT, 12.4KB) for more information. The maximum budget allocated for projects is £20,000.

Assessment criteria

Bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

• alignment with objectives
• achievable outcomes within the funding period
• project design with clear monitoring and evaluation procedures
• risk and financial accountability procedures
• organisation’s safeguarding policies ensuring protection of beneficiaries
• overall value for money

How to submit bids

Mr Colin James Crooks LVO has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea in succession to Mr Simon Smith CMG who will be retiring from the Diplomatic Service. Mr Crooks will take up his appointment during early 2022.

Full name: Colin James Crooks

Married to: Young-kee Crooks

Children: Two