Thank you President.

Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, including its attacks on civilians, schools, hospitals and power supplies, has caused and continues to cause immense damage and loss to Ukraine and its people.

In contrast, the scenes of relief and joy we have seen as Ukrainian civilians in Kherson greet the liberating Armed Forces of Ukraine should leave us in no doubt at the cruel and destructive nature of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It will take a broad international effort to support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction in order to build a safe and prosperous future for the Ukrainian people.

But only one country, Russia, is responsible for the damage to Ukraine and it is absolutely right, as this resolution sets out, that Russia pay for that damage. Russia must be held to account for actions which are in clear violation of international law, including the UN Charter.

The United Kingdom supports Ukraine’s ambition to establish a register of damage to ensure that the evidence of the destruction caused by Russia is documented and preserved. This is an important first step in Ukrainian efforts to seek justice in accordance with international law. It is right that we begin that process now.

Putin must end his war of choice, end the lies and distortion, end the global devastation in its wake, and withdraw his troops from Ukraine.

We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine, and for justice and compensation for the damage which Russia has caused. Thank you President.

Thank you, President.

The United Kingdom welcomes the renewal of MINUSCA’s mandate and thanks France for its efforts as penholder to reconcile differing views of Council members.

Delegations made difficult compromises.

The United Kingdom is disappointed by the loss of agreed Responsibility to Protect language. But we maintain that the Government of the Central African Republic remains primarily responsible for the protection of all civilians from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and that this issue will remain a key factor in future conversations.

This mandate renewal takes place in a difficult political and security context, and MINUSCA itself is facing significant challenges. But the Mission retains a key role in helping to build long-term peace in the Central African Republic. And while we recognise the views expressed by our A3 partners and welcome recent overall reductions in violations of the Status of Forces Agreement, we remain deeply concerned by night flight restrictions imposed by the government.

Such restrictions limit MINUSCA’s ability to implement its mandate and jeopardise the safety and security of peacekeepers and of civilians. We support new language in the mandate to address this critical issue. And we call on the authorities to ensure MINUSCA’s freedom of movement, with unhindered and immediate access throughout the territory of the Central African Republic, including by air and at night, as set out in the Mission’s Status of Forces Agreement.

President, with this mandate MINUSCA can continue to provide effective support to long-term stability in the country. It is now up to the government to deliver on their stated commitments: to protect civilians and human rights; to take definitive steps on the peace agreement; and to uphold MINUSCA’s freedom of movement.

Thank you.

Thank you President. My thanks here to Under-Secretary-General Lacroix, and to all our briefers for the presentations today. And let me take the opportunity to thank all our UN Police forces for their essential work in sometimes really tough conditions.

I am pleased today’s discussion is focusing on A4P and A4P+. UN Police have an important role to play in delivering whole-of-mission approaches to these reform priorities. So I will focus on the areas covered by the two Police Commissioners – protection of civilians and performance.

First, I thank Commissioner Fossen for her invaluable insight into implementing a protection of civilians mandate in UNMISS. We can sometimes forget when talking about Protection of Civilians how important unarmed approaches are. Of course, it is only part of the picture, and both armed and unarmed activity complement each other. We must consider the full range of tools to prevent and respond to civilian threats.

Peacekeepers need not only to protect civilians from physical violence, but provide a protective environment, and the space for mediation and dialogue. UNPOL are uniquely placed for this task. They are often the first and the last to meet with the local population during any intervention or response to a crisis. They need to establish strong relationships with those populations founded on trust.

Secondly, President, on performance. I thank Commissioner Berethe for speaking to this point in the MONUSCO context. Operating in any mission environment has its challenges, but MONUSCO is arguably one of the most challenging, as demonstrated by increased violence directed toward the Mission in recent months.

The UK welcomes the ongoing implementation of the Integrated Peacekeeping Performance and Accountability Framework and of CPAS to monitor and evaluate performance and review progress against mandate implementation. Better performance means better missions.

For UNPOL to operate and perform at its best, it needs to deliver the full range of policing roles it is mandated to fill. This should include capacity-building and development efforts of host-State police and justice and corrections institutions.

In line with the findings of the 2016 External Review of UNPOL, there could be more focus on institution building and specialist capabilities, not simply the number of personnel deployed. It is these skills that support sustainable peace and restoration of the Rule of Law.

Finally Mr President, our briefers and many speakers today have underlined the importance of the contribution UNPOL makes to the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. The UK strongly supports this, and welcomes the progress made to date.

We look forward to continuing to work together to strengthen UNPOL to deliver on its full potential. I Thank you.

The Pubs Code allows a brewing pub company to protect its route to market when a tenant chooses to go free of tie by including a stocking requirement in its Market Rent Only (MRO) tenancies. This means a tenant who takes the MRO option may still be required to stock some of the pub company’s products. But the stocking requirement must be reasonable, and the tenant must be able to buy those products from any supplier.

In June 2019, the PCA launched an investigation into the use of the stocking requirement by Star Pubs & Bars (Star), which is part of the Heineken group. The PCA found that Star had failed to comply with the Pubs Code by using unreasonable stocking terms in certain proposed MRO tenancies. The findings were published in October 2020 and can be read in full here.

In addition to a financial penalty, the PCA made eight recommendations to Star outlined on page 31 to 33 of the report. These were designed to ensure Star’s proposed stocking requirements comply with the Pubs Code and address harm to tenants from any non-compliant stocking terms proposed since the Code came into force in 2016.

Star’s Action Plan for complying with the PCA’s recommendations was updated in August 2022 and can be read here. Most actions are now reported as closed. The Action Plan shows the steps Star has taken to ensure it can demonstrate evidence-based compliance with the Code. Such compliance is to be supported by effective operational systems and independent assurance within Star, such as through introducing monthly ‘Compliance Cabinets’ in Star’s management system.

In summary, recommendation 3 required Star to review its MRO offers that were subject to negotiation or arbitration to identify any non-compliant stocking requirements and make new compliant offers to tenants. 76 tenants were affected and 32 have now concluded their MRO tenancy or are in the process of doing so. Other tenants have chosen to stay tied.

Recommendation 8 required a similar review of MRO tenancies already in the market, and for Star to offer to amend any non-compliant stocking requirements at no cost to the tenant. 17 tenants were affected and 14 have now concluded changes to their MRO tenancy or are in the process of doing so.

In all affected MRO cases, Star reduced the amount of Heineken UK product the pub must stock. The keg stocking requirement was either equivalent to or a reduction for the tenant on the previous requirement based on a percentage of taps that must stock Heineken UK products. In most cases, the cask and packaged brand stocking requirements were removed. It was also clarified in tenant agreements that stocking obligations fall away if Star sells the pub

Further information about Star’s compliance with recommendations 3 and 8, and examples of the improved terms, can be read here.

The PCA continues to monitor Star’s compliance with recommendations 3 and 8 while agreements are concluded. Star has informed the PCA that where the tenant has not responded to contact, it is taking steps to treat the matter as closed. In the small number of cases where this applies, the PCA is monitoring Star’s handling to ensure it is fair and open with tenants.

Star tenants who have any questions about the investigation recommendations can contact Star’s Code Compliance Officer, Lynne Winter at pubscode@starpubs.co.uk or the PCA team at office@pubscodeadjudicator.gov.uk.

End