Thank you, Madam President. I’d like to thank SRSG Shearer and Mr Yakani for their briefings today. I also wish to convey the United Kingdom’s gratitude for the work that UNMISS continues to do under immensely challenging circumstances.

In March, this Council unanimously commended the South Sudanese parties for demonstrating leadership. The formation of the revitalised transitional government of national unity was a significant moment in South Sudan’s short history, and it gave the people of South Sudan renewed hope for a brighter future.

But in the past three months, the world has changed. COVID-19 has affected all of us. South Sudan is no different. COVID-19 has already had an impact on lives across South Sudan, from the highest levels of government to ordinary men, women and children. And UNMISS has been affected, too, including through the sad death of a civilian staff member.

It’s important the measures taken to limit the spread of the virus allow lifesaving services to continue. And we are particularly concerned by the risks COVID-19 poses to those who have been made more vulnerable by forced displacement, including those living in Protection of Civilian sites. And we thank UNMISS and all humanitarian actors on the ground for their efforts to mitigate these risks and hope that the South Sudanese authorities will make every effort to work with partners on preventing the spread of the disease, protect health care workers and enable humanitarian access.

COVID-19 also poses obvious risks to the health and safety of peacekeeping personnel. And we hope the Secretariat will continue taking all necessary steps to assure medical and casualty evacuation arrangements for all personnel as part of ensuring that UNMISS can keep delivering its mandate.

Madam President, the United Kingdom is deeply concerned at recent increases in violent conflict. Since the beginning of the year thousands of South Sudanese have been killed or injured in hundreds of separate incidents of serious violence, including most recently in Jonglei states in May. I note that among those killed in Jonglei were three NGO staff – underscoring once again the dangers humanitarian personnel face as they go about that life-saving work in South Sudan.

The violence in the Equatorias stemming from the breakdown of the ceasefire has killed and displaced hundreds more. There have been shocking reports of sexual violence carried out by forces on all sides. And this has a critical role to play, of course, in reducing these conflicts and mitigating the impact, including through facilitation of community dialogue and patrolling hotspots. But COVID-19 is inevitably affecting the mission’s ability to carry out these vital tasks.

So, Madam President, it is therefore all the more urgent for the transitional government to expedite implementation of the peace agreement, even if that means confronting a series of difficult decisions. The delay in appointing state governors, for example, has created avoidable power vacuums which have exacerbated subnational tensions and fuelled violence. The United Kingdom urges the Unity Government to redouble its efforts to make progress on the transitional security arrangements, strengthen its messaging to counter hate speech, misinformation and incitement to violence, and tackle impunity through enhanced accountability to sexual and gender based crimes.

Madam President, the United Kingdom remains committed to South Sudan. In March, I said, “now the hard work begins”. Three months on, much of that hard work remains to be done. The longer the parties delay, the harder it will become. Full and prompt implementation of the peace agreement by leaders working together in genuine unity with the best interests of their people at heart remains the best hope for South Sudan and its people in these uniquely challenging times.

Thank you, Madam President.

On a ‘virtual visit’ to Bangladesh, a first for a UK Minister, Trevelyan met with Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister and also saw how UK-backed isolation and treatment centres will help protect Bangladeshi and Rohingya communities in Cox’s Bazar from the pandemic.

The UK has dedicated at least £21 million to tackle coronavirus in Bangladesh, where 120,000 cases have been reported.

Its support will save lives by slowing the rapid spread of the disease and boosting struggling health services. During the virtual visit, Ms Trevelyan talked to the staff of BRAC, an NGO which has mobilised 50,000 community health workers with UK aid support to reach more than five million Bangladeshi people in remote, deprived communities, giving them public health information about how to prevent the spread of coronavirus and stay safe.

Ms Trevelyan visited, via a video call, the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, where social distancing is near impossible due to the cramped conditions. UK aid is supporting the construction of vital isolation and treatment centres (ITCs) in Cox’s Bazar, making available over 600 beds for treating both Rohingya refugees and people from Bangladeshi communities, who develop severe acute respiratory infections due to contracting coronavirus.

UK International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said

“Coronavirus is the biggest public health emergency in a generation. UK aid is committed to helping Bangladesh and the Rohingya people through this devastating crisis.

“I saw the incredible international work across the country and in Cox’s Bazar to stop the spread of coronavirus and improve healthcare. The UK is proud to play our role, so we can help save lives and protect those in need.

“I am grateful to the Government and people of Bangladesh for their extraordinary generosity and support for the Rohingya refugees. The UK will continue to work with the Government of Bangladesh, international partners and the UN Security Council to enable the Rohingyas to return home to Rakhine in a safe, dignified and voluntary manner, and to support them until that is possible.”

The International Development Secretary spoke with Sarah Collis, the team leader of the UK Emergency Medical Team, which is working alongside Bangladeshi medics and the International Organisation for Migration to setup the ITCs and respond to cases in the camps.

She also saw the World Food Programme’s emergency food response to the pandemic, backed by UK aid, which is helping to meet the basic food needs of 100,000 Rohingya refugees and helping 53,000 of the most vulnerable Bangladeshis living around the camps to cope with the crippling economic impact of the pandemic.

Ms Trevelyan met with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP and committed to continue UK support to Bangladesh for the fight against coronavirus.

The British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson said

“The coronavirus outbreak has had an unprecedented impact on people’s health, livelihoods, and mobility in Bangladesh.

“The virtual visit allowed the Secretary of State to see the breadth and depth of UK support for the country, and underlined the UK’s strong commitment to Bangladesh in the face of the coronavirus challenge.”

More Information

The UK has dedicated at least £21 million to tackle coronavirus in Bangladesh, including to:

• increase testing capacity in the country by supporting the hiring of 60 additional technicians in Government of Bangladesh labs;
• reach more than 7 million Bangladeshi people in remote, deprived communities with public health information about how to prevent the spread of coronavirus and stay safe, working with BRAC and the UN Development Programme.
• set up isolation and treatment centres, train staff to help treat severe and critical coronavirus cases, and support mobile medical units to deliver home-based healthcare and monitoring. This healthcare is helping both refugees and host communities.
• build an additional 2,400 handwashing centres across the country
• meet the basic food needs of 100,000 Rohingya refugees for a whole year and helping 55,000 of the most vulnerable Bangladeshis living around the camps to cope with the crippling economic impact of the pandemic

Ms Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP was appointed UK International Development Secretary on 13 February 2020. She was previously UK Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 17 December 2019 to 13 February 2020, and UK Minister for Defence Procurement from 27 July 2019 to 16 December 2019.

The UK, the second largest donor to the international response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, is providing life-sustaining humanitarian aid to almost one million Rohingya refugees and vulnerable host communities in Cox’s Bazar. Since the last refugee influx in 2017, the UK has contributed more than £261 million. The UK is the third largest bilateral donor overall in Bangladesh, providing more than £350 million in aid since 2018.

Further information

Email: Dhaka.Press@fco.gov.uk

Follow the British High commissioner to Bangladesh on Twitter: @RCDicksonUK

Follow the British High commission Bangladesh on Twitter and Facebook: @UKinBangladesh and UK in Bangladesh

In its initial provisional findings, published in April, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally cleared Amazon’s investment on the basis that Deliveroo would have exited the market without it, because of the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on its business. The CMA considered that the imminent exit of Deliveroo would have been worse for competition than allowing the Amazon investment to proceed.

Since its initial provisional findings, the CMA has continued to gather and analyse evidence. A detailed assessment of Deliveroo’s finances shows considerable improvement in its financial position, reflecting, in part, changes which were not foreseeable during the early stages of the pandemic. Consequently, the CMA has now provisionally concluded that Deliveroo would no longer be likely to exit the market in the absence of this transaction. Given this, the CMA is instead required to base its provisional decision specifically on the impact of the transaction on competition between the two businesses.

The CMA has reviewed extensive evidence, including large volumes of internal documents from Amazon and Deliveroo, a survey of over 3,000 consumers, and extensive submissions from interested third parties. It has focused, in particular, on how the shareholding held by Amazon could affect its incentives to compete independently with Deliveroo.

Based on this detailed analysis, the CMA has provisionally found that the investment should be cleared because it is not expected to damage competition in either restaurant delivery or online convenience grocery delivery.

This decision reflects the 16% shareholding that Amazon is acquiring at the present time. Were Amazon to acquire a greater level of control over Deliveroo, in particular by making a full acquisition of the company, this could trigger a further investigation by the CMA.

Stuart McIntosh, Inquiry Chair, said:

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic, while initially extremely challenging, has not been as severe for Deliveroo as was anticipated when we reached our initial provisional findings in April.

The updated evidence no longer shows that Deliveroo would exit the market in the absence of this transaction. This has required us to re-evaluate our initial provisional findings.

We’ve carefully considered how this investment could affect competition between the two businesses in future. Looking closely at the size of the shareholding and how it will affect Amazon’s incentives, as well as the competition that the businesses will continue to face in food delivery and convenience groceries, we’ve found that the investment should not have a negative impact on customers.

The CMA is now asking for views on these provisional findings by 10 July 2020 and will assess all evidence provided before making a final decision. The statutory deadline for the CMA’s final report is 6 August 2020.

For more information, visit the Amazon / Deliveroo merger inquiry page.

As an armed national infrastructure police force, it is vital our Authorised Firearms Officers remain fit and healthy so they can carry out their demanding role.

During the lockdown and the ongoing closure of gyms, maintaining fitness can be difficult to maintain and although the current lockdown restrictions have been relaxed in terms of exercise, gyms and other exercise outlets will not be reopening.

As a Constabulary we offer an excellent Occupational Health and Wellbeing provision, which includes fitness, and have been running a series of Fitness Focus videos for new recruits and current officers giving hints on tips on passing the Multi-Stage Fitness Test and maintaining fitness levels.

On Tuesday 23 June 2020, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary’s Health, Fitness and Wellbeing Manager, Chris Williams, hosted a Fitness Focus Facebook event

Although currently required to work from home due to Covid-19 restrictions, Chris got creative and filmed an ‘At Home’ special edition of his popular Fitness Focus series.

After sourcing questions from followers on social media, Chris spoke on various subjects relating to fitness, nutrition, and the CNC’s fitness assessment for recruitment candidates.

Questions covered themes such as reducing body fat, improving speed, the importance of nutrition, and how to build up your fitness level following a period of illness.

One question on remaining active whilst adapting to life in lockdown, resonated particularly well with Chris. You can view a clip on our YouTube channel

As well as answering questions, Chris also demonstrated a series of stretches suitable to support candidates when they undertake the fitness assessment.

One viewer who is currently preparing to undertake the fitness assessment said, “He’s doing a great job. I’m really enjoying the info he’s providing. There’s so much information provided in the videos and messages.”

Across Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter the Fitness Focus At Home videos received over 2,000 views in the first 24 hours.

As part of the recruitment process for the position of Authorised Firearms Officer, all candidates are required to attain level 7.6 on the Multi-Stage Fitness Test. Once a serving CNC AFO, you will also be required to undertake this test once a year as a continuing condition of employment.

Fitness assessments are currently on hold due to the ongoing Covid-10 pandemic. Candidates will be contacted to be invited to an event as soon as it is safe to resume.

You can watch the full playlist of videos from the event on the CNC’s YouTube channel

To see more of what we share with our followers on social media, follow the CNC on Facebook and Twitter