Ambassador Holland highlights responsible governance and
multistakeholder cooperation are essential to harness frontier
technologies while protecting human rights and public trust. The
OSCE must strengthen early warning, address hybrid threats and
support Ukraine's recovery and resilience in the face of Russia's
illegal war.
"Thank you, Chair.
The United Kingdom thanks the Swiss Chairpersonship and the
Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental
Activities for convening this Forum. OSCE mandated
meetings are vital in all three dimensions of regional security,
and I reiterate for the record the UK's disappointment that
certain countries have again blocked legitimate discussion of
human rights, democracy and media
freedom.
Here in Prague our agenda rightly focuses on how
anticipatory technologies, strategic foresight and science-based
diplomacy can strengthen security and stability across the OSCE
region.
Rapid technological change presents significant opportunities.
Artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis and
other frontier technologies can improve early
warning, identify interconnected economic and
environmental risks, strengthen public services and support
responses to humanitarian crises. But these technologies can also
amplify disinformation, enable hostile activity and
deepen instability when misused or deployed
without appropriate safeguards.
Realising their benefits requires responsible governance and
genuine multistakeholder cooperation. States, international
organisations, businesses, academia and civil
society must work together to build
inclusive, secure and sustainable digital ecosystems.
Technology must serve people, respect human rights and
reinforce public trust.
We cannot separate these discussions from Russia's illegal war
against Ukraine. Russia's aggression continues to cause severe
economic, environmental and humanitarian damage,
including through attacks on Ukraine's
energy, water and other civilian infrastructure. The UK
welcomes practical OSCE work to assess the war's environmental
consequences, reduce long-term risks and support Ukraine's
recovery and resilience. We will continue to stand resolutely
with Ukraine.
Nor can we ignore wider hybrid threats. Technology-enabled
disinformation, cyber-attacks, sabotage, transnational
repression, and foreign interference are designed to exploit
vulnerabilities, undermine critical infrastructure and
destabilise our democracies. In July, the UK adopted the National
Security (State Threats) Act 2026, creating new powers
to designate and disrupt organisations engaged
in foreign power threat activity, which
enables HMG to treat proxy organisations like
foreign intelligence services. The UK and EU also
issued their first joint cyber sanctions package, targeting
Russian state, criminal and proxy networks responsible
for cyber-attacks across Europe.
These measures follow the UK's largest counter-FIMI sanctions
package to date, targeting individuals and entities involved in
Russian malign influence and efforts to destabilise Ukraine.
They demonstrate our determination to expose hostile
activity, impose costs and strengthen collective
resilience.
The OSCE should connect work across its dimensions, strengthen
early warning and situational awareness, and develop a practical
toolbox to help participating States
detect, prevent and respond to hybrid threats while
respecting human rights.
The United Kingdom stands ready to support this work and help
ensure technological progress contributes to a safer,
more resilient and more humane future.
Thank you."
