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Published 7 February 2020

On Thursday 6 February the three Troika Envoys for South Sudan met in London. The UK Special Representative for the Sudans, Bob Fairweather and the Norwegian Special Envoy Endre Stiansen were joined by the newly-appointed US Special Envoy for South Sudan Stuart Symington.

They discussed the status of the South Sudan peace process, two weeks from the scheduled formation of the transitional government. This critical deadline has now been delayed twice. In their discussions the Envoys emphasised the importance of beginning the transitional period on time and called on the South Sudanese parties to demonstrate the political will needed to move the process forward.

The Envoys welcomed the role the region has played in supporting the process, including recent efforts by South Africa. They were concerned that despite these efforts, the parties have been unable to make sufficient progress on the outstanding issues.

This lack of political will could derail the peace process and undermine the ceasefire, risking a return to violence at a time when the South Sudanese already face a devastating humanitarian crisis.

The Troika agreed that the imminent IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) and African Union meetings in Addis Ababa may be the last chance to get the process back on track before the deadline. The parties to the agreement, including the incumbent Government, must be prepared to make compromises and agree a way forward on outstanding issues, to enable the formation of an inclusive transitional government.

Their people are watching, impatient to see the peace that their leaders have publicly committed to, but so far have been unwilling to deliver.

The Envoys shared their assessment of the remaining challenges, and discussed possible responses to the scenarios around the 22 February deadline. The Troika remain engaged, and will continue to work with the region for the sake of South Sudan, whose short history has been blighted by conflict, corruption and terrible violence.

Further information

The 13th National Apprenticeship Week runs from 3 to 9 February with the aim of raising awareness of apprenticeships and apprentices. The Education and Skills Funding Agency launched the campaign, ‘#LookBeyond’ in 2020 to encourage the celebration of diversity in apprenticeships and the benefits they bring to individuals and their organisations.

This year, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office is encouraging those who may not have previously considered an apprenticeship at the FCO to find out more. As part of the outreach campaign, some of our FCO apprentices have shared their experience of working and learning.

Watch short videos of FCO apprentices talk about their roles

Christopher: Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship graduate

Shaquielle: Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship graduate

Katie: Level 7 Finance apprentice

Kimberly: Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship graduate

Read short blogposts from our apprentices

Find out more about apprenticeships at the FCO

In recent years, we have recruited apprentices in Business Administration, Communications, Human Resources, Finance (Accountancy) and Commercial Procurement. FCO apprenticeship opportunities continually evolve and this month, our very first Cyber Security apprentices will join the organisation.

Find out more about:

The novel coronavirus diagnostic test developed by Public Health England (PHE) is being rolled out to laboratories across the UK starting on Monday 10 February 2020. The increase in diagnostic capacity from one laboratory in London to 12 labs over the coming weeks, will accelerate the country’s testing capabilities.

The UK was one of the first countries outside China to have assured testing capability for the novel coronavirus. At PHE’s laboratories in London, it has the capacity to process samples from more than 100 people a day.

Now, to ensure that the country is prepared for further cases and to speed up the time from a sample being taken to a result in the lab, the test will be carried out by trained scientists across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This increases testing capacity to more than 1,000 people a day for England.

When a clinician suspects novel coronavirus, they take samples from the nose, throat and deeper respiratory tract and send them for laboratory testing.

Using the diagnostic test, scientists can look for evidence of the presence of any type of coronavirus and then hone in on specific genetic clues that identify the novel coronavirus associated with this outbreak.

A confirmatory test will continue to be conducted at PHE’s Colindale laboratories.

Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director, Public Health England, said:

Once China confirmed that they had identified a novel coronavirus, Public Health England was ready to test potential cases in this country. We have now trained scientists in labs across the UK to conduct the specialist test – ensuring that we are well prepared should we begin to see an increased number of cases across the country.

The roll-out to other parts of the UK is the fastest deployment of a novel test to PHE and NHS labs in recent history, including in the Swine flu pandemic in 2009.

In addition to processing samples from suspected cases in this country, PHE is now working as a reference laboratory for WHO, testing samples from countries that do not have assured testing capabilities.

The laboratories are in the folllowing locations:

• Scotland (2 laboratories)
• Northern Ireland
• Wales
• London
• Cambridge
• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Newcastle
• Southampton