Jim Murphy

Queer Sarajevo Festival

This week saw the launch of the 'Queer Sarajevo Festival' . This was meant to be a celebration of  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights and freedoms in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to promote tolerance and diversity. I was shocked and saddened to hear that following an outbreak of violence on Wednesday night the organisers felt they had to take the decision to cancel the remainder of the festival.
 
Homophobic violence has no place in any society. Bosnia and Herzegovina has signed up to various international human rights treaties that forbid discrimination and under Bosnian law such discrimination is illegal. It is important that all people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and all over the world, should be allowed to enjoy their human rights without fear of violence, intimidation or discrimination on the basis of their beliefs or sexuality. The British Embassy has been keeping in close touch with the festival organisers and issued a joint press statement with other Embassies in Sarajevo condemning the violence. And as the UK Government, we urge the Bosnian authorities to take strong action against those who perpetrated this violence.

Posted at 15:36 26 September 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[2]

Global Europe Seminars in Budapest and Warsaw

I've just returned from a fascinating two days in Budapest and Warsaw, where I met politicians, business leaders and academics to discuss how we can best work together, within Europe, to tackle the challenges of climate change, the credit crunch, and the Georgia crisis - to name but a few. And I took part in two seminars on the theme of "Building a successful and sustainable Europe".

Poland is, of course, a large and influential EU Member State - one of the "Big Six" - and a natural partner for the UK. We can find common cause on many issues, such as how to best respond to Russia's actions on Georgia. And we have a great deal to discuss on subjects where we differ - for example on the action that is needed to tackle climate change.

In Budapest I was reminded about how passionately Hungarians disagree about their politics, and also had very good discussions of EU issues with Kinga Göncz, the Hungarian Foreign Minister. We released a joint UK-Hungary Human Rights Declaration, emphasising the commitment of both our countries to protecting human rights, and eliminating all forms of discrimination, especially against the Roma, who are a vulnerable and marginalised group in many EU countries. The Budapest Holocaust Memorial Center, with its exhibition "From Deprivation of Rights to Genocide", was a moving example of quite how crucial it is to do everything we can to ensure that discrimination and hatred have no place in the 21st century world. Earlier in the week I had the chance to meet and talk to the remarkable Elie Wiesel at a dinner in London to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Holocaust Educational Trust.  Well done to the Trust for 20 years work in keeping the memory alive.

Posted at 16:35 18 September 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[2]

Visiting Hungary next week

I'm going to Hungary next week for meetings on Europe (making it more competitive, creating more jobs and growth, making it more secure and prosperous in the face of globalisation) and the range of foreign policy issues on the agenda at the moment.
 
I'm also going to discuss human rights and tolerance with my Hungarian counterpart  who recently hosted the 1st Budapest Human Rights Forum. The Hungarian government is trying hard to integrate better its 10% Roma minority, which faces problems of exclusion and intolerance. Some people might have seen the film Happy New Life by Arpad Bogdan - a young Hungarian film director who spent his childhood in an orphanage, and who has examined the issues faced by a generation of Roma like him in his new film.  Last week the BBC screened a documentary about Mr Bogdan - entitled "Looking for my Gypsy Roots".  I will meet the  documentary's producer/director, Antonia Meszaros, at an event at the British Embassy.  The situation of the Roma in Hungary and Central Europe is a complex one - to which there are no easy solutions, but it's not a situation any of us can ignore. I look forward to hearing more about what is being done and will post an update while I'm in Budapest if I can. 

Posted at 10:55 11 September 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[3]

EU-Ukraine Summit

The Foreign Secretary visited Kiev two weeks ago, to show our support for Ukraine in the wake of events in Georgia. Today in Paris the EU and Ukraine agreed to take our relationship a big step forward by agreeing to conclude an Association Agreement.  This will help Ukraine to integrate further into the European economy, co-operate on tackling organised crime and trafficking, and improve the prosperity and security of the EU.

Ukraine is a European country, the Summit today explicitly recognised that fact and acknowledged that one day Ukraine might apply for membership.  David Miliband set out our approach towards Ukraine in a speech he delivered in Kiev.  We believe that the door to EU membership should be open to Ukraine.  EU membership will take time and effort, but the goal should be clear.

This success makes it all the more important that Ukraine can handle effectively the domestic political challenges we have seen over the past couple of weeks.  I've been heartened by the firm commitment which all sides in Kiev have made to tackling those challenges constitutionally and democratically.  Ukraine's democratic record, as well as its impressively free media, have the shown that the country can be a leader and - as the Foreign Secretary said in Kiev - a model to others in the region.  They also underpin Ukraine's strong case for membership of the EU and NATO in due course.

Posted at 17:48 09 September 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[3]

Best of luck in Beijing

A quick blog to say good luck to GB's squad doing their last minute preparations for the Paralympics starting in Beijing tomorrow. We've got 206 athletes competing in 18 Paralympic sports (and did you know there's 50 years between the youngest and oldest of our competitors?). Another lesser known fact is that the Paralympic Games started at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Aylesbury in 1948 when a certain Dr Ludwig Guttmann started a competition between sports groups and other hospitals at the same time as the Olympic Games which was also held in London that year. It's being going strong ever since and all the best to this year's team.

Posted at 17:14 05 September 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[1]

The Balkans - international pressure point

The world has rightly been focussing on the crisis in Georgia and I've also blogged about it in the last couple of weeks. But it is important that we don't forget about the other international pressure points - one of which is Bosnia and Herzegovina. This week I met Miroslav Lajcak, the International Community's most senior representative there. Bosnia and Herzegovina was the scene of unspeakable ethnic cleansing in the 1990s. I visited Sarajevo earlier in the year and saw the progress but also the pressures. A wide-ranging agreement with the EU in June was an important step. But there remain significant obstacles to progress and we have to maintain our focus to ensure the country moves forward.

The Balkans remains a sensitive region. Kosovo is now independent and faces the challenge of building a successful multi-ethnic country ; Serbia has elected a moderate government and faces the challenge of moving definitively towards Europe; Karadzic is appearing before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia charged with war crimes, but Mladic remains on the run; and Macedonia remains fragile and in dispute with Greece over its name. All of these are complex situations, and until they're resolved, rebuilding following the shattering consequences of the break up of Yugoslavia will not be complete.

Posted at 15:18 05 September 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[1]

Cyprus Settlement

A lot of Brits might still be lucky enough to be holidaying on Cyprus at the moment, and if so they'll be inadvertent witnesses to a historic moment today when the leaders of the two Cypriot communities  launch direct negotiations aimed at finding a Cyprus settlement.  The progress that has been made this year has been incredibly encouraging.  The two leaders have demonstrated their commitment and willingness to work together towards a settlement to reunify Cyprus.  What the two leaders are embarking on presents perhaps the best opportunity to solve the Cyprus problem.

I welcome the launch of these talks and encourage the two leaders to seize the opportunity to put an end to this damaging division that cuts right through the heart of Cypriot society.  The phrase "once in a generation" is overused in politics but that really is what this is.  We'll continue to support their efforts in the coming months, and I look forward to having the opportunity to visit the island soon.

Posted at 17:11 03 September 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[1]

Olympics

The Olympic medals table makes great viewing.  Team GB are third - thanks to the brilliance of so many UK sportsmen and women.  I stayed up and watched the womens marathon til after 3am and, while much of the drama was about Paula Radcliffe's run and Liz Yelling's fall, the real story was the FCO's Mara Yamauchi coming in a record 6th, equalling the best performance by a British woman.

But interestingly the table looks great from other countries too.In the US the table has been redefined and the US are top ahead of China by organising it according to total medals won rather than the number of golds. Given this would drop us to fourth, behind Russia, I'm not persuaded! Spare a thought too for the Slovenians who could also be top - if it were organised in medals won per capita.

It's also great to be ahead of France, Germany, Italy and every other European country! Barring a surge by one of these, we may well be number one in Europe.If so, I can genuinely look forward to the next time I meet ministers in Brussels.I will miss the games. Roll on 2012 and London.

Posted at 15:17 20 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[3]

Georgia Latest

I agree with Robert who commented on this blog on 17 August - he's right to question whether punishing "ordinary folk" in Russia through imposing visa restrictions is really an effective and logical response to Russia's deplorable actions in the last 2 weeks. The UK's visa policy is always to focus this kind of action on the people responsible rather than the general public - that's why we targetted tightened visa restrictions at Russian officials only in our disagreement over Litvinenko, and why we did not change our visa policy towards ordinary Russians then and why we won't change it now. But we do need to send clear messages to Russia about their behaviour.  As the Foreign Secretary said today in his article in the Times we can't disengage.  The right response is hard-headed engagement to make sure that Russia understands the consequences of its actions. As Russia has breached international norms, the international community needs to respond as one.  The UK has been intensively engaged in international negotiations, including through the EU, G7 OSCE, NATO and the UN, to ensure an appropriate, unified response.

I regret to say that even now the situation on the ground throughout Georgia remains fluid and fragile. Although the ceasefire is largely continuing to hold there are some reports of continuing violence and this must stop immediately. And there are still Russian forces well beyond Abkhazia and South Ossetia. We welcomed the Russian statement that withdrawal was beginning but there is no sign whatsoever of this happening on the ground. We now we need to see evidence on the ground that Russia is living up to the commitments it has made.

The Foreign Secretary has been in Brussels again today, this time for a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of NATO countries.  Some of you will have seen that he has been making these points strongly.  The UK continues to offer Georgia both practical and political support in the short term - for example through sending immediate humanitarian aid - and longer term as they continue with their reform processes. The Foreign Secretary is right now flying to Tbilisi to discuss with partners there what we can do to help, and to see the situation on the ground for himself.

Posted at 16:57 19 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[7]

Georgia Discussion in Brussels

I'm in Brussels discussing the situation in Georgia.  The 27 countries of the European Union were united in their grave concern about the recent developments.  Military actions are not a solution.  The war has led to heavy loss of life and inflicted widespread humanitarian suffering.

Foreign Ministers welcomed the EU mediation efforts and urged the parties to the conflict to respect the commitments they had made, starting with an effective ceasefire.  They reaffirmed that the European Union will work to support the observation mission on the ground, which is led by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and provide essential aid for the humanitarian situation.

The crucial thing now is to make sure that the ceasefire holds and the humanitarian suffering is addressed.  Then we need meaningful talks about the future and strong international supervision of the process.

Posted at 19:05 13 August 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[4]