Preamble
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, have met today in a fundamentally changed strategic and security environment. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is a watershed moment for the 21st century and carries dramatic consequences far beyond Europe. We, the G7, want to make abundantly clear that we will not sit by whilst countries flagrantly disregard the international rulebook, on which we all depend for peace, prosperity, security and stability.
We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, Russia's unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia has blatantly violated the rules-based international order, international law and humanitarian principles and it has breached universally agreed and legally binding fundamental principles such as peaceful cooperation, sovereignty, self-determination and territorial integrity. We remain steadfast in our commitment to defend peace, human rights, the rule of law, human security and gender equality, as recognized by international law including the UN Charter and conventions, and call on our partners to join us in these efforts. Our success will depend on stronger defence, economic security, and deeper global alliances with friends and partners.
Russia's war of aggression has generated one of the most severe food and energy crises in recent history which now threatens those most vulnerable across the globe. Such actions must not stand. Our planet already faces extraordinary challenges and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine undermines and reverses progress to address these challenges. On the immediate crisis, the G7 is committed to both short-and-long term-support for Ukraine. We are determined to accelerate a coordinated multilateral response to preserve global food security and stand by our most vulnerable partners in this respect.
Democratic governance and its fundamental values underpinning our societies are under attack, undermined by military force, economic coercion, information manipulation and interference, including disinformation and other hybrid means. The G7 remains convinced that democracies remain best placed in the 21st century to ensure peaceful and prosperous societies where their people can freely exercise their human rights and freedoms, and choose leaders who represent their interests. We highly prize the contribution that civil societies all over the world have made and continue to make for much needed and transformative global change.
The climate crisis is accelerating and is threatening the very existence of humanity. Together with the international community, we must act decisively and urgently. We reaffirm our belief in international solidarity and the need to mitigate and overcome this existential, human-made threat.
The fight against COVID-19 and its global consequences is far from over. It is paramount to reaffirm our commitment to increased efforts to respond to the pandemic and to prevent a similar threat from emerging again. Equitable access to and provision of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics must go hand in hand with immediate support, especially in critical 'last mile' contexts and with a focus on humanitarian efforts as well as opportunities for a green, inclusive and sustainable recovery from COVID-19.
The present and the future of this planet are at stake. Based on a strong sense of unity, we, the G7, are determined to uphold our values, defend our interests. We commit to preserve strong, vibrant and innovative societies and to uphold the rules-based international order to protect the rights of all, including the most vulnerable. We commit to engage with partners and multilaterally for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, and to increase coordination on economic security.
I.) Foreign and security policy
1. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine
We are steadfast in our support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia's unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war of aggression and reiterate our constant call on Russia to put an end to the war it started and to end the suffering and loss of life it continues to cause. We reaffirm our position as outlined in our May 14, 2022 G7 Foreign Ministers' Statement on Russia's war against Ukraine.
2. Western Balkans
We reaffirm our commitment to the European perspective of the six Western Balkan countries to ensure the security, stability and prosperity of the region. We welcome that the Western Balkans stand united in condemning Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, especially in the UN General Assembly (UNGA). We commend Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia for fully aligning their foreign policies with the EU, including sanctions and their implementation. We urge Serbia to do the same. We welcome the alignment of Bosnia and Herzegovina with EU restrictive measures on Russia and unilateral alignment of Kosovo with those measures. We must continue to help Western Balkans to reduce their dependency on Russian hydrocarbons and vulnerability to economic coercion.
We strongly support the swift opening of EU accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. We call upon the countries in the region to advance internal reforms, in particular on rule of law, to expand domestic political space, to improve the environment for civil society and independent media, to pursue their efforts in the prevention of radicalization to violence, to support reconciliation, and to fight against genocide disinformation, as well as the glorification of war crimes and convicted war criminals.
We are concerned about the deepening political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina and condemn any attempt to undermine the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. We will not tolerate Republika Srpska's secessionist policies, which endanger Bosnia and Herzegovina's future and the stability in the region. We urge the return to full functionality of governments at all levels to resume their work fully, putting aside divisive and inflammatory rhetoric and avoiding any act that could destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina. We call upon all parties in the country to ensure that general elections are held as foreseen in October. We fully support the mandates of the High Representative Christian Schmidt. We fully support the executive mandate of the EUFOR ALTHEA operation to maintain a safe and secure environment in the country. We urge Kosovo and Serbia to engage constructively in the EU-facilitated Dialogue, to fully implement all past agreements with no delay, and to normalize their relations through a comprehensive and legally binding agreement, which will allow for the realization of their respective European perspectives, contribute to regional stability and benefit all people in the region. We support progress on inclusive regional cooperation and energy transition especially through the Common Regional Market and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans within the framework of the Berlin Process.
3. Indo-Pacific
We reiterate the importance of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and based on the rule of law, the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democratic principles, transparency, territorial integrity, and the peaceful and inclusive resolution of disputes. We are committed to working toward such a goal including through protecting and promoting the rules-based international order, improving regional connectivity through quality infrastructure investments, strengthening free trade, enhancing national resilience, supporting inclusive economic growth and confronting climate change and the loss of biodiversity. We express our intention to work together with like-minded countries in the region and reaffirm our support for the unity and centrality of ASEAN and commit to explore concrete cooperation in line with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)
4. East and South China Seas
We remain seriously concerned about the situation in and around the East and South China Seas. We reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that could escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the rules-based international order and express serious concern about reports of militarisation, coercion and intimidation in the region. We emphasize the universal and unified character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and reaffirm UNCLOS's important role in setting out the legal framework that governs all activities in the ocean and the seas. We urge all parties to resolve disputes over maritime claims through peaceful means consistent with international law, and support using the dispute settlement mechanisms established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. We reaffirm the importance of provisions laid down by UNCLOS on freedom of navigation, the right of innocent passage in the territorial sea. We stress that there is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. In this regard, we reiterate that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal under Annex VII to UNCLOS on 12 July 2016 is a significant milestone and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes in the South China Sea. We urge China to fully comply with the award and to respect navigational rights and freedoms enshrined in UNCLOS.
5. China
We continue to encourage China to uphold its commitments within the rules-based international order, to contribute to international security and to cooperate in advancing global health security, as well as the provision of global public goods, including on climate change, biodiversity and gender equality. We remind China of the need to uphold the principle of the UN Charter on peaceful settlement of disputes and to abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation measures or use of force.
On the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, we encourage China to support, in line with international law, the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and the integrity of its internationally recognized borders and to resolutely urge Russia to stop its military aggression against Ukraine. We call on China not to assist Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, not to undermine sanctions imposed on Russia for its attack against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, not to justify Russian action in Ukraine, and to desist from engaging in information manipulation, disinformation and other means to legitimise Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. We also support Taiwan's meaningful participation in the World Health Assembly and WHO technical meetings. The international community should be able to benefit from the experience of all partners.
We will work together to foster global economic resilience in the face of pressure through arbitrary and coercive economic policies and practices. We encourage China to uphold its commitments to act responsibly in cyber space, including refraining from conducting or supporting cyber-enabled intellectual property theft for commercial gain.
We remain deeply concerned by the human rights situation in China, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet. In line with China's obligations under international and national law, we urge China to fully respect human rights. We urge China to complete the ratification of ILO conventions 29 and 105 and call for full implementation and for effective action against forced labour in practice. We intend to tackle instances of forced labour, including through our own available domestic means, including through raising awareness and providing advice and support for our business communities.
We urge the Chinese authorities to allow immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang and Tibet for independent observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and her potential visit to China. We call on China to abstain from forcibly repatriating refugees to the DPRK.
We deplore the decline of pluralism and the limitation of civil and political rights in Hong Kong and call on the Hong Kong authorities to respect human rights, the rule of law, the independence of the judicial system and democratic principles. We urge China to act in accordance with its international commitments and its legal obligations, including those enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, and to respect Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and the rights and freedoms of its residents.
6. Myanmar
We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the military coup in Myanmar and stress the importance of holding accountable all those responsible for crimes under international law as well as egregious human rights violations and abuses committed by the armed and security forces, including sexual violence and abuses against Rohingya and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. We call on the military to immediately cease the violence, release all those who have been arbitrarily detained and restore Myanmar to the path toward inclusive democracy. We continue to support the efforts of ASEAN and the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis, on the basis of the ASEAN Five-Point-Consensus in all its dimensions, in particular dialogue with all parties concerned. We also support the efforts by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General. We remain deeply concerned by the deteriorating humanitarian situation and call for immediate, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance and COVID-19 vaccines to all people in need, in all parts of the country. We stress the need for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of all displaced persons, including Rohingya refugees when conditions allow. We remain fully committed to stopping the sale or transfer of arms, military equipment, material and dual-use equipment to the Myanmar military, and we call on all states to adopt similar measures.
7. Afghanistan
We are deeply concerned over developments in Afghanistan since the forceful takeover by the Taliban. We are alarmed by the systemic abuse of human rights, especially those of women and girls and members of ethnic and religious minority groups, and of the growing denial of fundamental freedoms. We remain worried about the persistent lack of political inclusivity and representative governance, the dire economic, humanitarian and social situation and the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan. We are united in our strong condemnation of the ongoing violence with recurring terrorist attacks targeting, among others, members of ethnic and religious minorities and in particular members of the Shia/Hazara community and of the terrorist threat emanating from Afghan soil for neighbouring countries and beyond.
We reassure the people of Afghanistan of our continued support to address their humanitarian and basic human needs, as demonstrated with our commitments at the High-Level Pledging Conference on 31 March. Unimpeded humanitarian access is indispensable for a swift and full distribution of humanitarian assistance consistent with humanitarian principles. The prevention of aid diversion is key for any assistance. We urgently call upon the Taliban to ensure the essential basis for long-term social, economic and political stability: with meaningful efforts towards inclusive and representative governance, rule of law and civil society; with full respect for political, social, economic, cultural and educational rights, including those of women, girls and members of minority groups; and with adherence to the commitments made in the Doha agreement and to provide safety to the people of Afghanistan.
We reiterate our request to the Taliban to urgently reverse their decision denying Afghan girls equal access to secondary education and call resolutely to revoke the recent announcement on women's appearance in public along with new punishments for family members to enforce compliance with these restrictions, which represent further serious restrictions on fundamental freedoms for women and girls. We await swift and full implementation of their decision to ban opium cultivation, which should lead to concrete efforts addressing illegal drugs trafficking and financing of terrorism. We recall our expectations that the Taliban allow safe passage across the borders of Afghanistan for foreign and Afghan nationals. We emphasise that the type and scope of our non-humanitarian engagement with Afghanistan and of our relations with the Taliban will be determined in large part by their commitments, actions and achievements on these matters and the expectations widely shared by the international community. We call upon international partners and particularly countries neighbouring Afghanistan to define their respective engagement with the Taliban on this basis. Unity of the international community is key to ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
8. Libya
We call on all Libyan stakeholders to ensure the democratic aspirations of the Libyan people are recognized through the swift definition of a legal basis followed by free, fair and inclusive Presidential and Parliamentary elections as soon as possible. We call on all parties to refrain from violence and to preserve the unity of the country and its institutions. We remain concerned about reprisals against women in public and political roles. We recall UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2571 (2021) and its provision recalling that individuals or entities engaging in, or providing support for, acts that threaten the peace, stability or security of Libya, may be designated for targeted sanctions. We reiterate our support
