Deteriorating human rights situation in Russia: UK statement

Madam Chair,

The human rights situation in Russia continues to deteriorate and this is of deep concern. I would like to highlight today four cases and areas.

Firstly, it is disgraceful that Alexey Navalny, himself the victim of a despicable crime, has been sentenced on arbitrary charges. We have expressed our concern previously here in this forum and also at the Council of Europe, and the UN Human Rights Council, and continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release.

Secondly, we also reiterate our previous calls for the release of Mr Yuri Dmitriev. We believe Mr Dmitriev’s case is a politically-motivated prosecution, triggered by his work as a historian and representative of the human rights organisation Memorial. Given Mr Dmitriev’s age, health, and the COVID-19 pandemic, there are also strong humanitarian reasons for his release.

Thirdly, we must also highlight – unfortunately not for the first time – the concerning situation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Russian Federation. The 2017 ruling of the Russian Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal against the decision to categorise Jehovah’s Witnesses as “extremists”, criminalised the peaceful worship of 175,000 Russian citizens and contravened the right to religious freedom that is enshrined in the Russian Constitution, and in multiple OSCE commitments.

Since that 2017 ruling, we have witnessed an increasing number of detentions, criminal investigations and prosecutions of Jehovah’s Witnesses across Russia, including the arrest and sentencing of Valentina Baranovskaya and Roman Baranovskiy on 24 February, and the sentencing of Aleksandr Ivshin on 10 February. Such cases reinforce the impression of an organised campaign of persecution against Jehovah’s Witnesses.

And fourthly, 27 February marks the sixth anniversary of the murder of Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, then a leading figure within the Russian opposition. We extend our sincere condolences to Mr Nemtsov’s family and friends, and urge the Russian authorities to bring those responsible to justice, and end the culture of impunity for attacks on political activists, journalists and human rights defenders.

We remind Russia that as an OSCE participating State, they have freely signed up to a series of commitments in the OSCE’s human dimension which they must uphold.



Statement by COP26 President Alok Sharma on the NDC Synthesis Report

Press release

COP26 President Alok Sharma’s statement on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s NDC Synthesis Report, which was published on Friday 26 February 2021

COP26 logo

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) published its NDC Synthesis Report on Friday 26 February 2021.

This report gives an overview of the 48 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), representing 75 Parties, submitted by 31 December 2020.

This is the official statement from COP26 President Alok Sharma in response to the report:

The UNFCCC has published the initial NDC Synthesis Report. It finds that the impact of countries’ 2030 emissions targets (Nationally Determined Contributions) are nowhere near enough to keep global warming below 2C, let alone the 1.5C needed to avoid the most disastrous effects of climate change.

This report should serve as an urgent Call to Action and I am asking all countries, particularly major emitters, to submit ambitious 2030 emission reduction targets. We must recognise that the window for action to safeguard our planet is closing fast.

This is an urgent priority on the road to COP26 this November. And I will continue to work with countries across the globe to reduce near term emissions to preserve our planet.

Published 4 March 2021



Letter from Sir Mark Sedwill to Sir Philip Rutnam: 29 February 2020

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New appointment to the UK Supreme Court and JCPC: 4 March 2021

Press release

The Queen has approved the appointment of Lady Justice Rose to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom as a Justice.

Lady Justice Rose will join the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom as a Justice on 13 April, it was announced today.

Her Majesty The Queen made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, following the recommendations of an independent selection commission.

Welcoming the appointment, President of the Supreme Court Lord Reed said:

We at the Supreme Court are delighted that Lady Justice Rose will be joining us as a Justice and look forward to welcoming her to the Court in April. Having spent a substantial part of her career working in government and Parliament, LJ Rose will add significantly to the diversity of experience on the court. Her outstanding legal ability and breadth of experience will be invaluable in maintaining the high quality of our judgments and our reputation as an international centre of legal excellence.

This appointment follows the retirement of Lady Black, on 10 January 2021.

Lady Justice Rose

Dame Vivien Rose took her first degree at Newnham College, Cambridge and a post-graduate degree at Brasenose College, Oxford. She was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1984 and was in practice at Monckton Chambers for ten years. She was appointed Standing Counsel to the Director General of Fair Trading in 1992.

In 1995 she left private practice to join the Government Legal Service serving as a legal adviser on financial services at HM Treasury until 2001. In 2002 she was appointed to the Senior Civil Service and moved to the Ministry of Defence as Director of Operational and International Humanitarian Law. From 2005 to 2008 she was seconded to the Office of Counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

In 2006 she was appointed to her first judicial role as a fee-paid Chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal. She was appointed to further tribunal posts and became a Recorder in the criminal jurisdiction, South Eastern circuit in 2010. In May 2013 Dame Vivien was sworn in as a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division. She was President of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) between 2015 and 2018 and was a nominated judge of the Financial List from its inception.

She was appointed to the Court of Appeal in January 2019.

A detailed description of the appointments process for Justices is available on the Supreme Court website via the following link:

Published 4 March 2021



Aviation sector boost as new jobs portal launches

  • Aviation Skills Retention Platform launched with an initial 2,185 vacancies
  • comes as a 6-month renewal of the successful Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme is announced
  • both initiatives are designed to safeguard the sector as wider restrictions begin to lift

The aviation sector is set to benefit from further government support with the creation of an all-new Aviation Skills Retention Platform (ASRP) to boost employment and upskill candidates in the industry.

The platform is an ‘online skills and recruitment centre’ specially tailored to find jobs for candidates who currently may be unable to work as a result of the pandemic, or similar roles that match their existing skillset.

The government has partnered with several leading employers, including the Civil Aviation Association, BAE Systems and Rolls Royce to offer an initial 2,185 vacancies, with more added every day.

The scheme will preserve essential expertise while addressing the wider skills shortage in the market, by both supporting those who are currently not working, and nurturing existing skills to lay the foundations for future growth when international travel restarts.

This follows the news that a 6-month renewal of the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme has been approved as part of this year’s budget.

The scheme, initially launched in January 2021, supports airports and ground handlers with fixed costs while travel restrictions remain in place.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

We’re supporting our aviation sector by launching an online jobs market to match aviation workers with 1,000s of vacancies, helping skilled workers regain high-value positions across this hugely important sector.

At the same time, we’re renewing our scheme to help airports and ground operators with their fixed costs. Grants of up to £4 million will be available, building on the success of the scheme launched in January.

The extension of government-backed loans and furlough payments announced at budget yesterday build on around £7 billion of support already pledged by government, benefiting the sector since the start of the pandemic. These measures will help ensure this vital and vibrant part of the UK economy is ready to bounce back in the wake of the pandemic.

With air travel likely to be lower than normal over the coming months, the renewal of the support scheme will provide airports with a financial boost through the summer by helping to cover fixed costs including:

  • airfield operations
  • contracted services such as airfield and runway maintenance
  • business rates bills

From May, eligible commercial airports and ground operators will be able to apply for up to £4 million towards their fixed costs between April and September 2021, with payments expected by the end of summer.

This comes just one week after the government announced additional support for the sector, extending the ‘80:20’ slot waiver to provide airlines with much-needed flexibility through the summer months.

It also follows the first meeting of the government’s Global Travel Taskforce this week, which is working to develop a plan for restarting international travel safely and sustainably.