Supporting the work of the OSCE

cid:image001.jpg@01D59555.295717B0

Supporting the work of the OSCE – UK statement at the Security Council

· UK calls on participating states to continue to support OSCE efforts, and urges equal and meaningful participation of women in conflict resolution

· UK urges Russia to adhere to its OSCE commitments and end its unlawful control of Crimea

Statement by Ambassador Jonathan Allen at the Security Council briefing on the OSCE, 10 March 2021

Thank you very much, Madam President. Let me also thank Foreign Minister Linde for her briefing. I’m not sure if she can hear us, but I hope she can anyway because I wanted to say that the United Kingdom is a firm supporter of the OSCE and we’re looking very much forward to working with Foreign Minister Linde as Chairperson in Office over the next year. We share her view that the OSCE is an important pillar of the international system with principles and commitments that provide a roadmap for enhancing the security of all participating states.

Madam President, protracted conflicts in the OSCE region continue to undermine regional security and blight the lives of affected civilians. We call on all participating states to support OSCE efforts. I want to welcome the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan last November to end fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. And we support the efforts of the Minsk Group co-chairs to secure a lasting peace. We also highly value the OSCE’s conflict mediation efforts in Georgia and in Moldova.

In all conflict resolution, Madam President, the full, equal and meaningful participation of women brings more informed decision-making and more sustainable results on the ground. And I want to commend Foreign Minister Linde’s focus on the Women Peace and Security agenda. The United Kingdom shares this priority and also supports the importance of women’s economic empowerment as an essential aspect to achieving this.

The United Kingdom will support Chairperson of Office Linde’s chairing this year through our role chairing the Security Committee of the OSCE. We are focussed on addressing transnational organised crime as well as counterterrorism, countering violent extremism and cyber security.

The OSCE plays a vital role in enhancing Euro-Atlantic security, and the UK remains committed to OSCE’s conventional arms control and confidence and security building instruments. We call on Russia to engage constructively at the OSCE to increase military transparency and reduce military risk, including through modernisation of the Vienna document.

Madam President, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine since 2014 remains one of the most serious security threats in the OSCE region. And I want to urge Russia to match Ukraine’s political will and meet its commitments so that progress can be made.

In that regard, I want to echo Foreign Minister Linde’s call for the opening of the two crossing points in the Luhansk Oblast. We discussed this issue before in this Council and I understand that the Government of Ukraine has opened the crossings on their side. So I would ask our Russian friends to use their influence over their proxies, in the interests of the people of the region to improve lives on a daily basis.

Madam President, let me conclude by saying on the seventh anniversary of the illegal annexation, the United Kingdom also calls on Russia to end its unlawful control of Crimea. Russia has deployed military troops to the peninsula in blatant violation of its OSCE principles and commitments. The ongoing human rights violations in Crimea are unacceptable, and we condemn Russia’s attempts to destabilise security in the region.

Thank you, Madam President.



Joint statement by Foreign Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom

News story

A joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab following talks in Tallinn.

Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets of Estonia today hosted Dominic Raab of the United Kingdom, Edgars Rinkēvičs of Latvia and Gabrielius Landsbergis of Lithuania in Tallinn for a meeting of UK and Baltic Foreign Ministers. Ministers had an in-depth discussion of foreign policy issues and how to increase cooperation between the Baltic States and the United Kingdom.

Ministers discussed Russia, China, Ukraine, and Belarus, as well as the wider issues of regional security and mutual defence. All agreed that the Baltic States and the United Kingdom would enhance coordination in multilateral fora, including on responding to events in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as fostering a robust response in the OPCW and UN to the abhorrent poisoning of Alexey Navalny.

Ministers agreed to continue working on strengthening cooperation at NATO, democratic values, human rights, respect for international law, and to increase efforts to defend media freedom and combat disinformation. They reaffirmed the importance of combating climate change and increasing the ambition of emission reduction targets ahead of COP26, in Glasgow in November.

The Ministers agreed on the value of increased cooperation between the Baltic States and the United Kingdom, and to meeting regularly to continue discussing shared foreign policy priorities and further enhance cooperation.

Published 10 March 2021



Five arrested following seizure of prescription-only and unlicensed medicines in the West Midlands

Press release

It is suspected that the pills were being sold through illegally operating websites

Five people were arrested in the West Midlands today in a joint operation conducted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and West Midlands Police. A significant quantity of prescription-only and unlicensed medicines were also seized from addresses in the area. These include powerful sleeping pills, strong painkillers and medicines used to treat epilepsy and anxiety which were suspected of being sold through illegally operating websites.

The MHRA investigation continues.

MHRA Head of Enforcement Andy Morling said:

“Buying medicines online from illegally operating websites can be risky.

“The vast majority of medicines supplied from illegally operating websites are not UK authorised medicines and cannot be guaranteed to meet standards of quality, safety and effectiveness.

“In the first instance, you should discuss any health concern with your GP or a registered pharmacist.

“If you think you’ve been offered a medicine illegally or have any information about suspected or known illegal dealings with medicines, please contact us, on 020 3080 6330 (weekdays 9am to 5pm) or out-of-hours on 07795 825 727. Or email us at casereferrals@mhra.gov.uk

“We investigate any report of suspected illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices.”

Notes to editors

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for regulating medicines and medical devices in the UK. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (‘the agency’) has three centres. The MHRA, the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) and the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). The agency is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Published 10 March 2021



PM call with President Rouhani of Iran: 10 March 2021

Press release

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Iranian President Rouhani this afternoon.

The Prime Minister spoke to Iranian President Rouhani this afternoon.

The Prime Minister raised the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other British-Iranian Dual Nationals detained in Iran and demanded their immediate release. He said that while the removal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s ankle monitor was welcome, her continued confinement remains completely unacceptable and she must be allowed to return to her family in the UK.

The Prime Minister also stressed that while the UK remains committed to making the Iran nuclear deal a success, Iran must stop all its nuclear activity that breaches the terms of the JCPoA and come back into compliance. He stressed the importance of Iran seizing the opportunity presented by the United States’ willingness to return to the deal if Iran comes back into compliance.

The Prime Minister underlined the need for Iran to cease wider destabilising activity and be a positive force in the Gulf region.

Published 10 March 2021



UN Human Rights Council 46: Interactive Dialogue with the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela

Thank you, Madam President.

The International Independent Fact-Finding Mission report and oral update confirm continuing accounts of extrajudicial killings which are being systematically perpetrated by the regime. We are appalled by the reports of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, including sexual violence and psychological torture, which are being perpetrated against opponents of the regime.

We thank members of the Fact-Finding Mission for their efforts to shed light on the direct or indirect involvement of high-ranking officials in gross human rights violations. Informed by their report, the UK sanctioned three Venezuelan security officials in December 2020 under our Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.

We acknowledge the courage of the victims, witnesses, and civil society organisations who contributed to the Mission’s investigation. The United Kingdom will continue to support an independent and diverse civil society, and oppose the regime’s abuses of power.

We urge Venezuela to carry out prompt, independent, and impartial investigations into all human rights violations documented in the report, to ensure accountability for perpetrators, and to provide justice and reparations for victims.

Since the publication of the first report, has the Fact-Finding Mission encountered additional difficulties or impediments from the regime in the compilation of the second report?

Thank you.