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UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced a coalition of political leaders, conservationists and celebrities dedicated to defeating the illegal trade in ivory.

At the start of the fourth international Illegal Wildlife Trade conference in London today (Thursday), the first members of the newly formed Ivory Alliance 2024 have been confirmed.

Members include political leaders from around the world and the alliance is also supported by famous faces from a number of countries where the trade is particularly active.

The Ivory Alliance 2024 will tackle ivory demand and lobby for domestic market closure, and stronger enforcement of bans or other ivory legislation in key demand and transit markets. This will complement the Africa-based work of the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI) founded by Gabon, Chad, Tanzania, Botswana and Ethiopia in 2014 and now comprising 19 African countries.

UK Environment Secretary, Michael Gove said:

I am delighted to be chairing a new initiative, the Ivory Alliance 2024, to bring together political and cultural leaders from across the world to tackle ivory demand and close domestic ivory markets.

I am extremely grateful to the panel members who will join me in making a significant contribution to elephant conservation. We must all do more to ensure the survival of these majestic animals for future generations.

This week’s conference, bringing together a record number of delegates from more than 80 countries, can play a huge part in helping us end the insidious illegal wildlife trade once and for all.

Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand said:

I am delighted to see the UK’s domestic ivory ban progressing through Parliament and to be part of the Secretary of State’s Ivory Alliance 2024, which will tackle the demand side of the severe poaching crisis we have seen in the past decade. This crucial agenda has my strong support, and I look forward to playing my part by engaging government leaders on strong legislation and enforcement.

This show of leadership from the UK comes at a crucial time for wildlife conservation internationally— and will go a long way towards influencing countries, including New Zealand and Australia, on movement towards their own bans.

Ivory Alliance political members:

• Chair: Michael Gove, UK Environment Secretary
• Rt Hon Helen Clark, former UN Development Programme Administrator and New Zealand Prime Minister
• Hon Josephine Ramirez-Sato, member of the House of Representatives, Philippines
• Hon Elizabeth Quat, Member of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong
• Professor Ephraim Kamuntu, Honourable Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Uganda
• Toni Atkins, California Senate President pro Tempore Leader, US Govt

Ivory Alliance supporters:

• Alexandra Bounxouei – musician and performer from Laos
• Bella Lack – a youth blogger for Born Free Foundation
• Adrian Pang – actor from Singapore

The Ivory Alliance 2024 will work with partners globally to secure at least 30 new commitments to domestic ivory bans by the end of 2020 and for tougher enforcement against those caught breaking the law. The UK has already set itself as a global leader on this issue, with a domestic ivory ban announced in April 2018.

Environmental Crime, which includes the illegal wildlife trade and illegal logging, is the fifth most lucrative serious organised crime and is estimated to be worth up to £17billion a year.

The two-day conference in London (11/12 October) will bring together international political leaders, conservation organisations and individuals interested in closing down the vile trade in wildlife.

A series of measures to tackle ethnic disparities in the workplace will be announced by Prime Minister Theresa May today – exactly one year after the government published the findings of a world-first Race Disparity Audit on how people of different ethnic backgrounds are treated across society.

Developed jointly by the government and Business in the Community (BITC), the new Race at Work Charter announced by the Prime Minister today will commit businesses to a bold set of principles and actions designed to drive forward a step-change in the recruitment and progression of ethnic minority employees.

The government, which has named WPP UK Country Manager and Chairwoman of MediaCom UK & Ireland Karen Blackett OBE as its Race at Work Champion, has already secured a number of high-profile inaugural signatories to the Charter, including NHS England, Standard Life Aberdeen, Norton Rose Fulbright, Saatchi & Saatchi, KPMG, RBS, the Civil Service and the world leader in communications services, WPP.

In addition, financial services company Lloyds Banking Group, also among the Charter’s signatories, is the first FTSE 100 company to set a goal to increase the representation of ethnic minority employees at senior levels.

Alongside the Race at Work Charter, the Prime Minister will also today launch a consultation on ethnicity pay reporting in response to the Race Disparity Audit’s Ethnicity Facts and Figures website data, which reveals significant disparities in the pay and progression of ethnic minority employees compared to their white counterparts.

In the first consultation of its kind, the government will invite employers to share their views on a mandatory approach to ethnicity pay reporting, since the number of organisations publishing information on the pay gap for people from different ethnic backgrounds voluntarily remains low.

The consultation, open until January 2019, will set out in detail what information employers should publish to allow for decisive action to be taken while also asking employers how ethnicity data can be collected without placing undue burdens on businesses.

The government is also taking action to ensure the leaders of UK’s key public services are representative of the communities they serve. Today, the NHS, Armed Forces, schools and police forces will set out plans to increase the proportion of public sector leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds. These include proposals from school leaders to address disparities in the teaching workforce, and publication of the National Police Chief Council’s first national Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Strategy, which pledges to support the priority government has given to tackling race disparity.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Every employee deserves the opportunity to progress and fulfil their potential in their chosen field, regardless of which background they are from, but too often ethnic minority employees feel they’re hitting a brick wall when it comes to career progression.

That’s why I’m delighted to launch the Race at Work Charter, which gives businesses a clear set of actions to work towards in helping to create greater opportunities for ethnic minority employees at work.

One year on from publishing the Race Disparity Audit, the government is delivering on its promise to explain or change ethnic disparities in all areas of society, taking action to support young people into work with funding of £90 million from dormant bank accounts , and acting on the recommendations of the Lammy review including by increasing diversity within prison officer recruitment.

Our focus is now on making sure the UK’s organisations, boardrooms and senior management teams are truly reflective of the workplaces they manage, and the measures we are taking today will help employers identify the actions needed to create a fairer and more diverse workforce.

Sandra Kerr, Business in the Community race equality director said:

All organisations should recruit from the widest pool of talent and support progression. The race at work survey of over 24,000 employees showed that all too often ethnic minority staff are still encountering significant disparities at work. The race at work charter will support leaders and line managers to take practical steps to tackle the barriers, with five clear actions. By signing up, we can ensure the workplace is representative of British society today.

Karen Blackett OBE, WPP UK Country Manager and Chairwoman of MediaCom UK & Ireland said:

Embracing diversity and inclusion is not a choice, it’s a business necessity. Clients choose WPP precisely because of the capability and creativity of our people; it’s why we’re focused on attracting, developing and promoting the best talent from across a range of backgrounds. Creativity powers business growth and this only happens by having diversity of talent in the room and reflecting society in the content we create.

As the Government’s Race at Work Champion, I’m committed to helping businesses address inequality at all levels by taking practical steps such as introducing apprenticeships, offering mentorships and capturing ethnicity data to create a more inclusive and representative workforce.

Baker McKenzie Diversity & Inclusion Partner, Sarah Gregory, said:

Huge progress has been made to improve the experience of ethnic minority colleagues in the workplace, but more still needs to be done. This is why, we are very excited today to be signing the Race at Work Charter and together with the Government and other businesses look at improving ethnic minority representation at all levels of seniority. The Charter builds on our ongoing commitment as a Firm to recognise and celebrate the talent of our diverse workforce and to ensure that everyone can be their authentic selves.