Thank you, Mr Chair, and thank you to Poland and OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for your warm welcome and hosting.

We gather today, against the bleak backdrop of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In the history of the OSCE never have the Helsinki Final Act’s ten foundational principles been so disregarded. The territorial integrity of States is paramount. Yet Russia chooses to consistently ignore this principle. No matter the cost. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed and injured. Vibrant, historic cities of Ukraine lie in rubble, sham referenda are being organised. Multiple international humanitarian law and human rights abuses have been committed. Detailed in all their horror in two Moscow Mechanism reports. Lives have been put on hold. Many changed irreparably. Russia’s shadow looms large over its neighbours in the OSCE region. The impact of Putin’s illegal invasion seeping across the globe.

As we stand united with Ukraine, we must also reflect on the state of human rights within the Russian Federation and Belarus. Internal repression and external aggression represent two sides of the same coin – when a state places a stranglehold on the freedoms of its own people – it sets the conditions for, and enables, aggression abroad. We have witnessed this again over the last few days. Russian police arrested around 2,000 people for peacefully protesting mobilisation. Mr Chair – we cannot, and will not, sit idly by.

The institutions of the OSCE – ODHIR and the Representative on Freedom of the Media – act as an early warning to internal human rights abuses. We must heed their calls and react decisively. The human dimension underpins European security and is absolutely critical to the functioning of the OSCE. We must robustly defend the independence, mandates, and budgets of the OSCE’s institutions and structures. Our peace, stability and security may depend on it.

I’ll end by paying tribute to civil society representatives; the activists, lawyers, and the journalists who have travelled to Warsaw this year, some at real personal risk, to defend human rights. The UK delegation looks forward to a lively discussion with you.

Thank you Mr Chair.

The Foreign Secretary has today (26 September) announced 92 sanctions in response to the Russian regime imposing sham referendums in 4 regions of Ukraine – a clear violation of international law, including the UN charter.

The Russian regime has organised these sham referendums in a desperate attempt to grab land and justify their illegal war. The process reflects their approach in Crimea in 2014, combining disinformation, intimidation, and fake results. These referendums do not represent the demonstrated will of the Ukrainian people and are a severe violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and political independence.

The Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

Sham referendums held at the barrel of a gun cannot be free or fair and we will never recognise their results. They follow a clear pattern of violence, intimidation, torture, and forced deportations in the areas of Ukraine Russia has seized.

Today’s sanctions will target those behind these sham votes, as well as the individuals that continue to prop up the Russian regime’s war of aggression. We stand with the Ukrainian people and our support will continue as long as it takes to restore their sovereignty.

In order to implement these fake referendums, the Russian regime has deployed officials and collaborators to each of the these temporarily controlled regions – 33 of these individuals are being sanctioned today. These include:

• Sergei Yeliseyev: the Head of Government in Kherson, recently installed by the Russian government and Vice Admiral in the Russian Navy. Since defecting from the Ukrainian navy in 2014, Yeliseyev has continued to undermine the independence of Ukraine
• Ivan Kusov: the Minister of Education and Science of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic and tasked with “helping our educational institutions to seamlessly blend in the educational system of Russia” by Pasechnik – leader of the LPR
• Yevhen Balytskyi: the Russian installed head of the so-called Government in Zaporizhzhia, who has been supporting the Russian invasion since March through public statements of support. In August, Balytskyi reportedly signed a decree to allow a referendum on Zaporizhzhia joining the Russian Federation
• Evgeniy Solntsev: the Deputy Chairman of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic

IMA Consulting, branded ‘Putin’s favourite PR agency’ has also been sanctioned. IMA has reportedly been awarded to manage the public campaigns for these sham referendums – both to support their implementation within the four temporarily controlled territories and spin their false legitimacy back in Russia.

Goznak, a security documents company known for its monopoly on the production of ‘tens of millions’ of state documents including expedited passports in the temporarily controlled territories, has also been sanctioned.

Putin continues to rely on his cabal of oligarchs and selected elites in order to fund his war. Today a further four oligarchs, with a combined global net worth estimated at £6.3 billion, have also been sanctioned for supporting or obtaining benefit from the Government of Russia and operating in sectors of strategic significance. These include:

• God Nisanov and Zarakh Iliev: known as the ‘Kings of Russian real estate’, and with a joint global net worth of £2 billion, the pair own and control the Kievskaya Ploshchad Group, a major construction company operating across Russia
• Iskander Makhmudov: President and founder of Ural Mining and Metallurgic Company. A major metals magnate, Makhmudov has an estimated global net worth of £2.7 billion
• Igor Makarov: President and owner of ARETI International Group, a major investor in the oil and gas sector, and founder of Itera, Russia’s first independent gas company before being bought by state-owned Rosneft. Makarov is worth an estimated £1.6 billion

Today’s package also includes 55 board members from state-linked organisations that continue to bankroll the Russian war machine – serving as a stark reminder of the cost of supporting Putin’s operation. Amongst those sanctioned are:

• 23 individuals from the Gazprombank Board of Directors and Management Board
• 16 members of the Sberbank Supervisory Board, Executive Board, and other Directors
• 10 individuals from Sovcombank, including the Deputy Chairman and members of the Supervisory Board and Management Board

The UK will never recognise the results of any sham referendums or attempts to annex Ukraine’s sovereign territory. Ukraine voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and their continued brave resistance against Russian aggression clearly demonstrates their wish to remain an independent sovereign state.

We stand united alongside our international partners in condemning the Russian government’s egregious actions. Alongside partners we will continue to pursue targeted sanctions and are committed to sustained economic and political pressure on Russia.

As of today, the UK has sanctioned over 1,200 individuals and over 120 entities, including over 120 oligarchs with an estimated combined global net worth of over £130 billion.

Asset freeze

An asset freeze prevents any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world. It also prevents funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person.

Travel ban

A travel ban means that the designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom, providing the individual is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971.

Transport sanctions

Recently introduced powers make it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to fly or land in the UK and give the government powers to remove aircraft belonging to designated Russian individuals and entities from the UK aircraft register, even if the sanctioned individual is not on board. Russian ships are also banned from UK ports.

Mr President,

Congratulations on your appointment as President of this Conference.

It is an honour to be here today, and I would like to express His Majesty’s Government’s gratitude for the phenomenal work of the Director General and the Secretariat over the last year. Their commitment, resilience, and professionalism in responding to threats to the security and stability of our world has shown, once again, the value of the Agency to the global community.

Mr President, The United Kingdom firmly believes that the peaceful uses of nuclear technologies are essential to resolving some of the most pressing challenges of our time. First, this means boosting our energy security through safe and secure nuclear power to address climate change and food insecurity.

Yet we cannot ignore those who threaten this vision. The United Kingdom continues to condemn the Russian Federation’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine and its reckless actions against nuclear facilities, including at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power plant. Russia’s wicked actions threaten the safety of millions and undermine the use of nuclear technology. The United Kingdom supports the IAEA’s work to ensure the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power plant. However, we are clear that the only way to resolve the nuclear safety issues in Ukraine is for the Russian Federation to end its unprovoked invasion, and unconditionally withdraw all its troops and personnel from Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and its internationally recognised borders.

While Russia acted alone to block consensus at the recent Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, the United Kingdom will play its part to advance our commitments under the NPT. This includes the Sustained Dialogue on Peaceful Uses, where we – alongside 30 other partners – aim to continue expanding access to nuclear technologies, to allow more countries to benefit from them, through medical, environmental and energy applications.

It is also deeply concerning, Mr President, that Iran has chosen not to seize the critical diplomatic opportunity to restore the JCPoA and instead continues to escalate its nuclear programme. The JCPoA cannot in any way be used to release Iran from its legally binding safeguards obligations that are essential to the non-proliferation regime and international security. The only way the issues can be resolved is through Iran providing technically credible explanations to the Agency’s outstanding questions.

Mr President, despite these threats to the global non-proliferation architecture, we must not lose sight of the opportunities of advanced nuclear technologies. That is why, earlier this year, the British Energy Security Strategy set out our intention to boost deployment of civil nuclear up to 24GW by 2050, including through the development of Small Modular Reactors. Meanwhile, we are improving our plans for decommissioning and developing a geological disposal facility to dispose of our most hazardous radioactive waste safely and securely.

We are also leading global efforts to make Fusion Energy a reality. By investing in the best research, we plan to build a prototype fusion power plant that will put energy on the grid by 2040 – demonstrating Fusion Energy’s commercial viability.

Furthermore, Mr President, it is more important than ever to have resilient international supply chains for uranium and nuclear fuel. The United Kingdom has many decades of experience of making fuel for our own reactors and for export to the rest of the world. We will continue to build on this, ensuring that our supply chains and capabilities are ready to help fuel this energy secure future.

We must also recognise, Mr President, that challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine have highlighted the importance of working together to strengthen our nuclear safety, security and safeguards frameworks.

The Agency can count on His Majesty’s Government’s full support in its efforts to strengthen these systems, including through our cooperation with the US and Australia on AUKUS naval nuclear propulsion. We are working closely with the IAEA to ensure that the precedent set by Australia’s acquisition of submarines strengthens the global non-proliferation regime. As our leaders said in last week’s statement, the AUKUS partners are fully committed to establishing an approach that meets the highest non-proliferation standards.  We welcome Director General Grossi’s report to the September IAEA Board of Governors meeting on this issue, in which the Director General reported his satisfaction with our engagement.

We also remain committed to working with Contracting Parties to strengthen IAEA Conventions, particularly through the valuable Peer Review processes, and maintaining robust emergency response arrangements.

An effective and robust safeguards system remains an essential enabler for the peaceful uses of nuclear. We urge those countries that have not yet done so to ratify Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols. Only fully implemented and ratified agreements, matched with high security standards for nuclear material and sites will deserve the public’s confidence in nuclear technologies and provide the assurance that they are safe, secure and safeguarded.

I would also like, Mr President, to applaud the IAEA’s significant contribution to science and research and the Director General’s unwavering commitment to nuclear for development. I am happy to pledge £3.4 million to the Technical Cooperation Fund.

The technologies under development today are needed to solve the most pressing global development challenges of our time, and it is our responsibility to deliver these to those who need it most.

Finally, let me emphasise Mr President, the UK will continue to give the Secretariat, and the Director General, our wholehearted support.

Thank you very much.

Jacob Rees-Mogg
Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy