Pulse.Assent

Prime Minister Theresa May will use her platform at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this week to call for the international community to come together to prevent the erosion of norms around a range of threats whether from malign states, weapons of mass destruction or chemical weapons.

In particular, the PM will warn that the red line around the use of chemical weapons use is being undermined – and that steps need to be taken to re-establish it.

Speaking at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, the PM will set out how UK leadership has had a positive impact but that the international community needs to redouble its efforts.

Ahead of the meeting the PM said:

As we meet in the UN Security Council this week, the red lines around the use of chemical weapons are being eroded.

The Syrian regime has repeatedly used these appalling weapons against its own people while the Russian state has deployed them on UK streets.

Attacks such as Salisbury and Ghouta are despicable in their own right, but they are also a threat to the wider international system. Each time we fail to challenge the use or development of weapons of mass destruction, it erodes the framework of treaties we have built up so painstakingly over the past few decades.

The UK has, in recent months, played a leading role alongside our allies in reinforcing these longstanding, global norms. UK, US and French airstrikes in April degraded Syrian chemical weapons capability and demonstrated our collective resolve. And in June, the international community empowered the OPCW to attribute responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

We worked closely with our allies on a co-ordinated response to Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Salisbury, resulting in 28 countries as well as NATO joining us in expelling a total of over 150 Russian intelligence officers: the largest collective expulsion ever.

But the international community needs to do more together – both to prevent future chemical weapons use and to ensure those who use them are held to account, but also to tackle the range of other threats to global security, including the proliferation of WMD.

The intervention will be the first time in five years that a UK Prime Minister has used the platform of the UN Security Council to speak about the importance of preventing the spread of chemical and nuclear weapons, as well as other weapons of mass destruction. It reflects the UK’s commitment to tackling the unacceptable use of chemical weapons following the abhorrent attack in Salisbury, and the attack in Syria by the Russian-backed Asad regime.

Her intervention will come on the second day of a busy two-day programme in New York, during which, she will demonstrate the UK’s leading role in, and commitment to, the UN by:

• opening the Bloomberg Business Forum with an address to CEOs, in which she will make the case for capitalism and free markets, while recognising the need to make the system work for everyone
• laying the foundations for the UK’s leading role on climate resilience at the 2019 UN Climate Summit
• building on the UK’s pioneering work on girls’ education by co-hosting an event with France, Canada and a number of Global South partners, including Kenya, to accelerate progress on the global campaign to ensure all girls can access 12 years of quality education and learning by 2030
• delivering a keynote address to the General Assembly

Today the PM will call on the international community to invest in Africa, in order to unlock the potential of a generation on the continent.

She will join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to convene investors, businesses and young African business leaders. The leaders of Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are also expected to attend.

Philanthropist Bill Gates, who shares the PM’s vision for investment in Africa, is also expected to speak at the event.

The PM will challenge attendees to invest in Africa to create more of the jobs that transform individual lives as well as economies, lift people out of poverty and enable countries to move to a future beyond aid.

The Prime Minister will also hold a number of bilateral meetings with world leaders during her time in New York.

The Foreign Secretary co-hosted a meeting with the French foreign minister in New York today to discuss the Rohingya crisis and called for urgent actions to be taken by the international community.

1 – On Monday 24 September UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian co-hosted a High-Level Event on the Rohingya Crisis. Ministers from Burma/Myanmar and Bangladesh were joined by high level attendees from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey and the US. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgenerand UN Development Programme Administrator Achim Steiner also participated.

2 – The Co-Chairs agreed that the plight of the Rohingya was one of the largest refugee crises in recent history and one of the most pressing human rights and humanitarian crises facing the international community today. They noted with deep concern the conclusions of the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission, which allege the Burmese military’s responsibility for serious human rights violations, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity and which conclude that there is sufficient information to warrant the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the Burmese army so that a competent court can determine their liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine state.. They noted also the Fact-Finding Mission’s conclusion that the perpetrators of crimes must be held to account. Since August 2017 these have led to the displacement of over 723,000 Rohingya who are now residing in Bangladesh.

3 – The Co-Chairs noted that over the past year the Burmese government had taken some steps to address the crisis, including the signing of the MoU between Burma/Myanmar and UNDP and UNHCR and the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI).

4 – The Co-Chairs acknowledged the ruling of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh as well as over the alleged crime against humanity. They noted the decision of ICC Prosecutor, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, to open a Preliminary Examination concerning the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Burma/Myanmar to Bangladesh. They recalled their support to the efforts of the Human Rights Council to implement the conclusions of the Fact-Finding mission and to push for accountability, including through an independent Mechanism to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Burma/Myanmar.

5 – The Co-chairs called for the immediate release of the two Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Ooo as well as for the respect for their fundamental rights. In any country, journalists must be free to carry out their jobs without fear or intimidation.

6 – The Co-Chairs renewed their support to the Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, and called on the Burmese government to pursue its cooperation with her.

7 – However, the Co-Chairs regretted that conditions in Rakhine State were not yet conducive for the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable repatriation of refugees to Rakhine and that there remained a need for ongoing international action to push for more and faster progress in three main areas. These include:

• The Burma – UNDP – UNHCR MoU: full implementation and effective access for UNHCR and UNDP is needed as a necessary next step in any return process, as well as further confidence-building measures such as allowing the Rohingya freedom of movement. Immediate, safe and unhindered access must be granted to UN agencies and their partners, as well as other domestic and international non-governmental organisations, to provide humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State.
• A credible accountability and remedy process: Given the severity of the findings of the UN Fact-Finding Mission, ongoing international efforts are needed to pursue accountability alongside the work of the domestic CoI, which has yet to produce any tangible results. Furthermore, more information is required from the CoI regarding its Terms of Reference and how it will operate with impartiality and independence and in cooperation with international bodies including the UN.
• Concrete implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations: The Co-Chairs affirmed these recommendations as the best path to a stable Rakhine and Burma/Myanmar, with improved conditions and equal rights for all and emphasised that these recommendations need to be implemented comprehensively, including those related to ending discriminations, protecting human rights and creating a pathway to citizenship for the Rohingya. The Co-Chairs also reaffirmed the willingness of the international community to support Burma in fully implementing all recommendations.

8 – The Co-Chairs thanked the government and people of Bangladesh for hosting more than a million refugees. They encouraged the international community to continue and intensify support for the refugees and Bangladeshi host communities, including through increasing financial support to the UN Joint Response Plan.

Further information

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