Thank you, Chair.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom thanks the Swiss Chairpersonship and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities for convening\u00a0this\u00a0Forum.\u00a0OSCE mandated meetings are vital in all three dimensions of regional security, and I reiterate for the record the UK\u2019s disappointment that certain countries have again blocked legitimate discussion of human rights,\u00a0democracy\u00a0and media freedom.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here in Prague our\u00a0agenda rightly focuses on how anticipatory technologies, strategic foresight and science-based diplomacy can strengthen security and stability across the OSCE region.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rapid technological change presents significant opportunities. Artificial intelligence, advanced data\u00a0analysis\u00a0and other frontier technologies can improve early warning,\u00a0identify\u00a0interconnected economic and environmental risks, strengthen public services and support responses to humanitarian crises. But these technologies can also amplify disinformation, enable hostile\u00a0activity\u00a0and deepen instability when misused or deployed without\u00a0appropriate safeguards.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Realising their benefits requires responsible governance and genuine multistakeholder cooperation. States, international organisations,\u00a0businesses,\u00a0academia\u00a0and civil society must work together to build inclusive,\u00a0secure\u00a0and sustainable digital ecosystems. Technology must serve people, respect human\u00a0rights\u00a0and reinforce public trust.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
We cannot separate these discussions from Russia\u2019s illegal war against Ukraine. Russia\u2019s aggression continues to cause severe economic,\u00a0environmental\u00a0and humanitarian damage, including through attacks on Ukraine\u2019s energy,\u00a0water\u00a0and other civilian infrastructure. The UK welcomes practical OSCE work to assess the war\u2019s environmental consequences, reduce long-term risks and support Ukraine\u2019s recovery and resilience. We will continue to stand resolutely with Ukraine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nor can we ignore wider hybrid threats. Technology-enabled disinformation, cyber-attacks, sabotage, transnational repression,\u00a0and foreign interference are designed to exploit vulnerabilities, undermine critical\u00a0infrastructure\u00a0and destabilise our democracies. In July, the UK adopted the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, creating new powers to\u00a0designate\u00a0and disrupt organisations\u00a0engaged in\u00a0foreign\u00a0power\u00a0threat activity,\u00a0which enables\u00a0HMG to\u00a0treat\u00a0proxy organisations like foreign\u00a0intelligence\u00a0services. The UK and EU also issued their first joint cyber sanctions package, targeting Russian state,\u00a0criminal\u00a0and proxy networks responsible for cyber-attacks across Europe.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
These measures follow the UK\u2019s largest counter-FIMI sanctions package to date, targeting individuals and entities involved in Russian malign influence and efforts to destabilise Ukraine. They\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0our determination to expose hostile activity, impose\u00a0costs\u00a0and strengthen collective resilience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The OSCE should connect work across its dimensions, strengthen early warning and situational awareness, and develop a practical toolbox to help\u00a0participating\u00a0States detect,\u00a0prevent\u00a0and respond to hybrid threats while respecting human rights.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom stands ready to support this work and help ensure technological progress contributes to a safer, more\u00a0resilient\u00a0and more humane future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thank you, Chair.\u00a0\u00a0 The United Kingdom thanks the Swiss Chairpersonship and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":767283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-767282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}