Tag: ISIL

21st October 2015

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Against Extremism

The United Kingdom is built on values like democracy, respect and tolerance. These unite the nation, and help our society develop and thrive. They are supported by the overwhelming majority of people in our country. But these values have become challenged and threatened in recent years in an unprecedented way, by extremists seeking to spread […]

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13th January 2015 London, UK

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by Philip Parham

UK Commonwealth Envoy, former British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates

Together, we will consign Da’esh to the forgotten footnotes of history

The so-called Islamic State has no credibility. It is founded on fear. We – an international community inspired by our common humanity – will defeat it. As 2015 opens up before us, and as we reflect on the events of the past year, the actions of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria stand […]

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13th January 2015 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Keeping the ‘Islamic State’ out of Lebanon, and Lebanon out of the ‘Islamic State’

All of us share the sadness of the French people at last week’s terrorist attack in Paris, and of the Lebanese people at the weekend attack in Tripoli. In their condemnation of the deaths in Paris, the four Muftis of Lebanon sent a powerful message against extremism. It was a reminder that many in this […]

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22nd December 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Looking back, looking forward: a few highlights

The end of the year is always a good moment to take stock, and that holds no less for embassies as for individuals. A few of our 2014 highlights: The large number of high level bilateral visits to the Vatican, topped of course by that of Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh […]

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11th November 2014

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by Jonathan Allen

Former Ambassador to Bulgaria

Increasing Our Security in an Increasingly Insecure World

Europe is surrounded by an “arc of instability”, in the words of Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary. Bulgaria, responsible for one of the EU’s key external borders, and on the land route to Syria, is in a key position. It is vital that we, Bulgaria’s allies, step up our support. It is just as […]

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7th November 2014 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Is The Pen Mightier Than The Sword?

The Lebanese spend more on education than anything but food, more per capita than any other country. It’s a downpayment of hope in Lebanon’s future. In schools as on the borders and checkpoints, the UK stands beside Lebanon with actions not words. The UK is now Lebanon’s main education partner, through four gamechanging programmes. For […]

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2nd November 2014 London, UK

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by Philip Parham

UK Commonwealth Envoy, former British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates

What’s in a date?

For as long as they have recorded themselves, humans have divided time – by the cycles of the sun (or rather the earth) and the moon, by the visibility of the constellations, by the migration of prey and the growth of crops, and by the anniversaries of the events and heroes through whose prisms they […]

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25th September 2014 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

A United Nation at the UN

For a week every year, the world’s foreign policy elites relocate to New York for the annual jamboree of statecraft, the UN General Assembly. The pace is frantic – diplomatic speed-dating. But it matters. The UN may not be perfect, but no-one has yet come up with a better idea for global coexistence. It matters […]

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8th September 2014 Geneva, Switzerland

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by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

September Strawberries

This year has been the summer that never was. Usually by the time the September Council session comes around, colleagues look relaxed, healthy even, after enjoying the Geneva sunshine and seem genuinely happy to see each other after a decent break. But a combination of bad weather and incessant work has left many of us […]

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3rd September 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Responding to ISIL

There has, rightly, been enormous concern expressed across the world about the recent turn of events in Northern Iraq. The expulsion of the Christian communities from Mosul and the 13 villages of the Plain of Nineveh – an historic heartland inhabited by Christians from the earliest days, well known from, amongst other sources, the story […]

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