Well, Mr President, thank you. It is customary for all Security Council members to thank the President of the day for convening a debate on an important topic.

Mr President, preventative diplomacy is a vital tool for this Council in maintaining and restoring international peace and security and it’s a tool we do not use often enough. We cannot simply pay lip service to the primacy of political solutions to conflict. And collectively, this Council should be willing to engage with slow burning political crises before they flare up into open conflict. That’s why in the open debate in the UK’s presidency last August, we held a debate about mediation. So Mr President, thank you for convening this debate on an important issue.

Let me pay tribute to the efforts of the African Union and African sub-regional organisations in this regard. The AU took swift and decisive action in June in response to a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Sudan and the AU’s subsequent mediation was crucial in supporting Sudan’s transition to civilian-led government. I’m pleased that this Council was ultimately able to express its support for the African Union’s position on Sudan in June, thanks in no small measure to the leadership of our African colleagues here on the Council.

Our conflict prevention and resolution efforts work best where the United Nations, the African Union and sub-regional organisations coordinate to leverage their comparative advantages. We’ve seen this in the Central African Republic, where the United Nations and African Union continue to play a vital role in supporting implementation of the peace agreement. And I hope we will see further such coordinated efforts and actions to encourage peaceful dialogue and political processes.

In South Sudan, we urge the regional governments with the African Union, the United Nations and all interested actors to encourage the parties to make further progress in implementing the revitalised peace agreement ahead of the critical 12 November deadline. That should include further direct contact between President Kiir and Riek Machar. And I hope the Security Council is able to play a helpful role during its visit under your leadership, Mr President, and that of our US colleagues later this month.

In Cameroon, the United Kingdom welcomes the national dialogue, which took place last week, as an initial step to bring parties together to work towards peace. Further inclusive discussion about the root causes of grievances is urgently needed, and all parties must take action to address these grievances.

We are often asked to ensure space for African organisations to take the lead on African issues, and we therefore call on the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to support an inclusive and peaceful resolution to the crisis in Cameroon.

And in Burundi, I welcomed our briefers’ raising of the situation there. We encourage Burundian and regional actors to work together in the spirit of the Arusha Accords to make progress on a long-term solution to the political crisis ahead of the 2020 elections. And I hope that this this Council and the Peacebuilding Commission can and will remain fully engaged.

Now, Mr President, there is, of course, no ‘one size fits all’ approach to conflict prevention and resolution. In some contexts, we can best make headway by ensuring alignment by actors behind UN leadership, avoiding duplication of effort. And that is the case in the United Kingdom’s opinion, for example, in Libya, where the international community should follow a single shared roadmap towards the resumption of a political process aligning behind Special Representative Salamé’s leadership. Now, this emphatically does not mean marginalising regional voices. Rather, it means maximising the United Nations ability to leverage the support and expertise of all relevant actors, including the African Union, the League of Arab States and the European Union, behind a successful process.

Mr President, conflict prevention is of course preferable to conflict resolution, but that does require effective horizon scanning capacities. So I commend the work of the United Nations Secretariat and the African Union Commission on strengthening their ability to conduct joint analysis and reporting. I also commend DPPA for the useful horizon scanning discussion we held on Latin America some time ago. I hope to see the next one soon and that they take place more frequently hereafter. It is very good, I think, for members of the Council to have an informal opportunity to understand the situation in a range of countries not on the Council’s agenda.

I also welcome the development of the African Union’s Continental Early Warning System, which the United Kingdom is proud to support, including through funding secondee roles within the AU Commission.

Mr President, as we discussed in our debate on mobilising the youth last week, inclusive approaches to conflict prevention and resolution are key to a lasting peace. This means supporting women peace builders at the grassroots level and ensuring women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, mediation and inter-communal dialogue. And we welcome efforts to this end, such as the AU’s FEMWISE network, which the United Kingdom supports enthusiastically, and the Women Mediators across the Commonwealth initiative, to which the United Kingdom is contributing $1.5 million. We hope that more member states will offer their support to such initiatives, including through supporting the Global Alliance of Women Mediators, launched recently in the margins of High Level Week by the Secretary-General.

Thank you, Mr President.

Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani has this weekend (5 to 6 October 2019) attended the world’s largest roads event to promote and champion the UK’s highways expertise.

The World Road Congress, which is being held in the Middle East for the first time, provides an opportunity for the UK to highlight its role as a forerunner in the building, design and maintenance of roads.

It also looks to spark discussion between nations about how new technologies are changing how we use our roads and how this can be used to drive down accident rates.

During the visit the minister met with key stakeholders representing the UK highway industry including private sector partners, SMEs and academics to discuss cutting edge technology and developing techniques which are revolutionising the way that road networks are developed.

She also met senior officials responsible for transport in several nations, to discuss how best practice can be shared to benefit the international community.

Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani said:

There are few people who can say they do not rely on the UK’s roads – whether commuting to work, school, or meeting friends and family, our road network is crucial for modern life.

The UK is a world leader in understanding, managing and maintaining highway networks, which is why it is so important that we draw on our global networks to share best practice.

I was delighted to be able to attend the World Road Congress to promote the sector and to meet with so many industry leaders to discuss our shared vision for fantastic highway networks across the globe.

The 26th World Road Congress is a 5 day event discussing the over-arching theme of ‘Connecting Cultures, Enabling Economies’.

The event will see Abu Dhabi welcome thousands of road transport professionals and more than 300 exhibitors from the private and public sectors across the world.

The location also reflects the growing profile of the region in the highways sector, with new and innovative thinking and the commitment to lead advances in this field.

The minister was delighted to host His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Department of Transport, along with Claude Van Rooten, the President of the World Road Association at the UK stand. The UK organised the largest exhibitor stand of any of the visiting countries at the congress, designed to showcase the UK at its best.

Nearly 4,000 troops, 58 aircraft, 16 ships and three submarines from 12 NATO nations as well as Japan and the United Arab Emirates, will participate in the exercise until 17 October.

This autumn’s exercise will also mark the first of five in which the Anglo-French military force, the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), will be able to test itself before confirming it is fully operational by next summer.

Joint Warrior is a biannual exercise that allows the UK’s Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and their allies to conduct joint operations involving different forces and units and against a range of current and future threats.

Minister for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster said:

As we look ahead to the December NATO Leaders’ meeting in London to mark the Alliance’s 70th anniversary, Exercise Joint Warrior provides a timely demonstration of why it is the bedrock of our defence.

A wide spectrum of allies and friends will come together, build understanding and sharpen our collective defence. We are stronger and safer together.

Since 2010, the UK and France have been working together to develop the CJEF to be an early intervention able to deploy land, air and maritime components together and number over 10,000 people with a range of capabilities. It is designed to take on any future crisis that is of common concern to France and the UK.

The CJEF is complementary to NATO and it will conduct a maritime exercise – Exercise Griffin Strike – as part of the wider NATO exercise Joint Warrior.

Although run by the UK, Joint Warrior is closely aligned to NATO training aims and is included in the NATO exercise programme.

The following NATO nations are taking part in Exercise Joint Warrior: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey the UK and the US. Japan and the UAE are also taking part in the exercise.

The call for evidence is a critical element of the review methodology set out in a Ways of Working document published on 30 September. It seeks to gather a wide range of written responses through our online survey tackling the questions set out in the review’s terms of reference published on 16 September.

Lord Carlile says:

The review is an important opportunity to take stock of the UK’s strategy to safeguard those vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. It will allow us to consider what is working and what isn’t, and to identify what improvements need to be made. Nothing is off the table.

I want to hear from a wide range of people. This includes academics and those working in think tanks, community and religious organisations, those involved in schools, colleges and higher education, and people working with local government and the police. I also want to hear from members of the wider public. I invite you all to share your ideas and thoughts on your experience of Prevent and how things might change and improve.

The call for evidence will remain open for 2 months, until 11:45pm on 9 December 2019 and the review will report to Parliament by August 2020.