Thank you Mr President.

Madam High Commissioner, we wish to join others in putting on record our sincere appreciation for your work over these last four years. You have been the UN’s leading voice on human rights at an incredibly challenging time. And perhaps the most challenging time since the position of High Commissioner was created.

When you took up your mandate no one could have predicted the huge global challenges that we have collectively faced in recent times. It was essential that the international system shone a light on the many human rights challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we thank you for being at the forefront of that effort.

Regrettably, we have seen many more serious problems which could have been avoided.

The aggression against Ukraine remains, appalling, an ongoing deliberately–made crisis which has clearly been driven by one party – Russia. We thank you for your recent comments calling on the Russian President to halt the armed attack against Ukraine and for accountability for the violations which have occurred.

In all regions, we have seen persistent attacks against human rights defenders; we have witnessed dramatic set-backs on women’s rights; and we have observed with great alarm that persons belonging to minorities have come under attack.

It is vital that your successor continues to keep these issues firmly in focus.

Madam High Commissioner, we remain hopeful that in your final days in office, one piece of business, which remains as yet unfinished, will be dealt with. The UK has been among those at the forefront in calling for violations in Xinjiang, China to be properly investigated. It is essential for all of us, that no state is free from objective scrutiny on its human rights record, and that no state can be allowed to stifle the High Commissioner’s independent voice. We therefore urge you to publish your report on China.

Madam High Commissioner, we wish you well in the next chapter of your hugely distinguished life and career and thank you for everything you have done to advance human rights over these last 4 years. Thank you Mr President.

The Lord Chancellor has appointed Dr Natalie Byrom, Kate Pasfield, John Sorabji, and James Walker as members of the Civil Justice Council for three years from 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2025.

The CJC is a statutory advisory body established by the Civil Procedure Act 97.

The CJC brings together members of the judiciary, civil servants, legal professionals and others representative of the varied perspectives, sectoral interests, specialist and professional expertise found across the civil justice system.

The CJC has a statutory role in keeping the civil justice system under review. It advises the judiciary, government, and rule makers on the development of the civil justice system, especially how it can be more accessible, fair and efficient. It is empowered to make proposals for change and propose and undertake research.

Biographies:

Dr Natalie Byrom – Information Architecture and Econometrics CJC Member

Dr Natalie Byrom is Director of Research at The Legal Education Foundation and founding Director of their Justice Lab initiative. She sits on the Administrative Justice Council as a member of the steering group and is data advisor to the President of the Family Division’s Transparency Implementation Group. Between 2018 and 2020 she served as an Expert Advisor on Open Data to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service, where she made a series of recommendations to improve data collection, architecture and governance in the context of the ongoing programme of digital court reform.

Kate Pasfield – Other areas of expertise relevant to civil justice CJC Member

Kate Pasfield is Director of Legal Aid Policy and Member Services for the Legal Aid Practitioners Group. She previously spent 17 years in private practice and the not-for-profit sector as a legal aid solicitor specialising in housing and community care work.

John Sorabji – Barrister Role CJC Member

Dr John Sorabji is a barrister at Nine St John Street Chambers and an associate professor within the law faculty at University College London (UCL). In 2021 he was appointed Legal Adviser to the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act. He has previously advised the Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls and other senior members of the judiciary on various legal and constitutional matters. He is General Editor of The White Book.

James Walker – Small and medium size enterprises (SME) CJC Member

James Walker is Chief Executive of Rightly, an organisation which helps consumers manage and own their data footprint. He is also the founder and Chief Executive of JamDoughnut, an an App that assists consumers to save money. James is also a Non-Executive of Consumer Scotland. He is a Non-Executive Director advising the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman and the Collaboration Network and sits on the Consumer Panels for the Office of Road and Rail and the Civil Aviation Authority. He formally founded and grew Resolver, a free consumer tool to assist consumers in resolving complaints and disputes and built an online dispute resolution platform

• Public and businesses in drought affected areas urged to use water wisely as the dry summer impacts the environment.

The Environment Agency has today agreed that all of the South West of England is now in drought following some of the driest conditions in nearly 90 years.

Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, south Gloucestershire and parts of Wiltshire (referred to in the Environment Agency as the Wessex area) have all today moved to drought status. Earlier this month Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly were also declared to be in a drought.

The triggers used to confirm today’s move to drought status for the area include the hydrological position (including rainfall, river flows, groundwater levels, reservoir levels, and the dryness of soils), as well as the impacts these conditions have on the environment and abstractions. While the area has had some rainfall over the last 2 weeks, this has not been sufficient to compensate for the long dry period in recent months, but by waiting until now to declare a drought, it has given our response team time to consider the effects of the rainfall.

This change in status to drought is a change in categorisation, indicating the impact prolonged dry weather is having primarily on the environment and in addition on water resources. Essential water supplies are safe, but Defra and the Environment Agency are urging water companies to continue with their precautionary planning to protect essential supplies in the event of a dry autumn.

In the Wessex area, the effects of drought are resulting in low river flows impacting the environment in and around rivers. So, we will work with companies and individuals who have abstraction licences allowing them to take water from rivers and groundwater boreholes, and with the public, to try to lower demand and therefore reduce the impact on the environment.

While there is an important role for people to sustainably manage their usage, Government expects water companies to act to reduce leakage and fix leaking pipes as quickly as possible and take wider action alongside government policy.

Chris Paul, the Environment Agency’s area drought lead, said:

Despite some heavy rain over the past 2 weeks, it has not been enough to refill our rivers and aquifers.

River levels across our Wessex area are exceptionally low – many showing the lowest flows on record. This places incredible strain on local wildlife and this is why we are moving to drought status.  We are prioritising our local operations to minimise impacts on the environment.

Action being taken across the area includes additional monitoring of the effects of the dry weather on rivers and responding to environmental emergencies, such as rescuing stranded fish, wherever possible. We will also be ensuring people and companies who have water abstraction licences only operate within the terms of their licence and taking legal action against those who fail to comply or against anyone who abstracts water without a licence.

The Environment Agency’s water situation national report for July provides a picture of the rainfall, soil moisture deficit, river flows, groundwater levels and reservoir levels over the last month. The report highlights that it was the driest July across England since 1935, with monthly rainfall totals for the majority of river catchments classed as exceptionally low for the time of year.

There have been 5 consecutive months of below average rainfall across all geographic regions in England and above average temperatures. River flows, groundwater levels and reservoir stocks all decreased during July.

With Wessex now declaring a drought, 11 of the 14 Environment Agency areas in England are now in drought status.

Notes to editors

The Environment Agency uses 4 stages to describe and manage drought conditions:

• Prolonged dry weather
• Drought
• Severe drought
• Recovering drought