25th November 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Between now and 10 December, Human Rights Day, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office – led by the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Baroness Anelay – will be focusing on our work to prevent sexual violence against women. […]
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3rd November 2015
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Ms Stephanie Koh, a Shell Engineer, was selected to represent Brunei as a future woman leader to attend the Week of Women Summit in London 2015. Read her guest blog about her experience at the week long Summit. I am very privileged to have been nominated by Brunei Shell Petroleum Co. and selected by the […]
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21st October 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Each week I take the UK seat at the OSCE Permanent Council in the Hofburg, imposing former Hapsburg imperial seat, where I recently read, the 1815 Congress of Vienna ‘danced the night away, 200 years ago, shaping post-Napoleonic Europe almost as an afterthought’. History records an impressive social whirl around the lengthy negotiations. 201 years […]
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9th October 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On 13 October there will be a High Level Review at the United Nations to commemorate 15 years since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. This was a ground breaking resolution that recognised not only the inordinate impact of war on women and girls, but also the pivotal role women should and do […]
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14th June 2015
Geneva, Switzerland
It feels like we’ve hardly been away. I’m starting to suspect that someone has airbrushed April and May from the global calendar. The only clue that the months have been and gone is our hedge growing high enough to receive a letter from the estate agent ordering us to cut it by 10 centimetres and […]
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13th April 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Stereotypical images tend to come to mind, at least the non-Catholic British mind, when we think of nuns. We think of Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music. Perhaps Sister Wendy Beckett delivering art lectures. We might just stretch to Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta. Like most stereotypes, such images are both unhelpful […]
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30th March 2015
Geneva, Switzerland
Council sessions take a heavy toll on all things that are close to us. Our partners, our children and our pets all suffer from weeks of neglect. So do our bags. Any object unfortunate enough to go into my rucksack during Council time will undergo a period of inanimate purgatory as draft resolutions, cereal bars, […]
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23rd March 2015
Jerusalem, Israel
Earlier this month, Palestinians joined people around the world celebrating International Women’s Day. Palestinians have much to celebrate on this day. I’ve been struck during my time here by the dedication of Palestinian women: running successful businesses; influencing politics; building communities in spite of the difficult conditions imposed by the Occupation. To celebrate International Women’s […]
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17th March 2015
Geneva, Switzerland
As nice as it can be living out here, there are many drawbacks to not being in the UK. It’s easy to lose touch with friends, to miss out on historic national moments and to forget about sending a card in time to arrive for Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, during the March session the only way […]
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9th March 2015
Geneva, Switzerland
While I was never the life and soul of all night parties – prone to having a little nap while others danced round me – I did at least used to be active and go out on a regular basis. These days, instead of thinking about finding new places to ski within easy reach of […]
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