The UK condemns Iranian support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has made this clear to Iran including when the Iranian chargé d'affaires was summoned on 3 October. Iran's supply of drones to Russia, whether direct or indirect, violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231. On 20 October, new UK sanctions targeted Iranian individuals and businesses responsible for supplying Russia with drones. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is already sanctioned. The UK is following cooperation between Iran and Venezuela closely and will continue to stand up for UK values and security interests, and those of our partners.

The UK is following cooperation between Iran and Venezuela closely and will continue to stand up for UK values and security interests, and those of our partners. The FCDO works closely with the relevant cross government enforcement bodies to ensure the robust implementation of existing UK sanctions. We have sanctioned 41 Venezuelan individuals responsible for human rights abuses, the undermining of democracy and corruption offences, and over 300 Iranian individuals and entities in relation to activities including human rights abuses, terrorism and weapons proliferation.

Involvement in the COP27 summit is a matter for the UN. I have had no discussions on this topic with my Venezuelan counterpart.

I have not yet had the opportunity to meet with my Guyanese counterpart but hope to do so in the near future. The UK and Guyana have a close relationship, evidenced by President Ali's visit to the UK earlier this year when he met with the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and His Majesty King Charles, as the Prince of Wales. The UK is clear that the 1899 Arbitral Award settled the border between Guyana and Venezuela; we recognise the ongoing court case in the International Court of Justice.

We remain deeply concerned about the political situation in Venezuela, where multiple crises are afflicting its people. We continue to recognise Juan Guaidó as the interim constitutional president of Venezuela and continue in our efforts to support a return to democracy in Venezuela. While UK Government does not accept the legitimacy of the Maduro regime, we maintain limited engagement with regime officials where necessary.

The UK is extremely concerned by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. The crisis is not only making life untenable for the majority of the Venezuelan population of 28.4 million people but has led around 6 million Venezuelans to flee the country since 2016.

Since 2019, the UK Government has spent £37m in humanitarian aid in response to the Venezuelan crisis. These funds have provided life-saving support to very vulnerable people, much of it focused on health and nutrition, water and sanitation, both inside Venezuela and in other countries in the region, among them Colombia. Inside Venezuela, our funds have made an important contribution to childhood vaccinations and strengthening the capacity of the country to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to the entire population. We have also supported multi-sector projects implemented by 17 national Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and 8 international NGOs through the Venezuela Humanitarian Fund, which we played a key role in establishing in 2020. The UK continues to be the largest contributor to the United Nations' Central Emergency Response Fund and provides considerable funding to other multilateral humanitarian agencies. We are also a founding donor of the Venezuela Humanitarian Fund, which is increasing funding to Venezuelan NGOs.

The UK supports efforts to ensure global migration is safe, orderly and regular, in line with the UN's Global Compact for Migration and the Sustainable Development Goals. Since 2019, the UK Government has spent £37 million in humanitarian aid in response to the Venezuelan crisis. This is on top of our existing multilateral contributions to the UN-managed Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Global Fund, our core contributions to the UN and to the Red Cross movement. We were also the second largest donor to the Global Concessional Financing Facility for Colombia in 2019, providing £8 million as part of our overall response to help unlock concessional loans to support Colombia in continuing to host more than 1.5 million Venezuelans.

Diplomatic relations between Colombia and Venezuela are a matter for the two countries. We will continue to work through diplomatic channels to help the Venezuelans restore democracy and address the root causes of the crises they are facing.

The UK is extremely concerned by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Since 2019, Her Majesty's Government has spent £37 million in humanitarian aid in response to the Venezuelan crisis, focusing on health, nutrition, and water and sanitation, both inside Venezuela, and with refugees in countries in the region. Due to the devastating impact of the pandemic on the UK's economy and resulting ODA cuts, the UK is not funding substantial new bilateral humanitarian programmes in response to the Venezuela crisis.

The UK has been clear about our human rights concerns in Venezuela. Reports on the situation by the UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission have been deeply worrying, suggesting very serious human rights violations are being carried out with the support of regime leaders, senior military officers and officials. The UK actively promotes and supports human rights in Venezuela through our engagement and projects.

The UK is clear that all members of the Council should uphold the high standards expected of them and demonstrate respect for the principle of universal human rights in their actions.

No concern has been raised with us by the Venezuelan authorities about illegal squatters in the Venezuelan Embassy or Consulate building in London.

In line with many other countries, the UK Government does not recognise the Maduro regime.

The FCDO works very closely with US, Canadian and European allies on Venezuela and we will continue to coordinate our efforts to help encourage an end to the political crisis in that country and a return to democracy. The US and UK sanctions regimes are entirely distinct. Unlike the US, the UK has never imposed sectoral sanctions on Venezuela. The UK only has individual sanctions in Venezuela, targeted against individuals who have undermined democracy, engaged in grand corruption, or been involved in human rights abuses.

We are deeply concerned by Wagner Group deployments to the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine. We continue to monitor reports of Russian mercenaries in Venezuela, including reports that mercenaries who are either part of or affiliated to the Wagner Group have conducted activities in support of the Maduro regime.

Illegal gold mining in Venezuela involves very serious human rights abuses at scale and is causing significant environmental and wider social damage, especially in the Arco Minero region. Russian private military companies are reported to be active in this area.

We have not had discussions with the Cuban Government or with counterparts in Venezuela, where we do not recognise the Maduro regime. We are, however, concerned by Russia's refusal to rule out military deployments to Venezuela and Cuba.

The UK respects the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and as a State Party to the Rome Statute, we do not provide recommendations on investigations undertaken by the Office of the Prosecutor. As an ICC State Party, the UK often provides assistance in response to requests for assistance or cooperation from the Court pursuant to Part 9 of the Rome Statute. However, we have not yet received any such requests in relation to this situation.

We are currently finalizing our statement for the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review into Venezuela. The Advance Questions we have submitted to the UN highlight our concerns around humanitarian access, LGBTQ+ rights, the justice system, treatment of prisoners and the handling of corrupt individuals who cause harm to society. We expect that the recommendations in our statement will address some of these points.