Consular Assistance Unit, British High Commission, Islamabad wins overall Civil Service Diversity & Equality award for their work to tackle forced marriage.
Following their earlier success in winning the 'Diversity: Innovation Award' for their ground breaking work on Forced Marriage, our Consular Assistance Unit in Islamabad has now been awarded the overall Civil Service Diversity and Equality Award, presented on 17 November at Banqueting House, London.
Civil servants from around the UK were honoured, with awards presented in fourteen categories.
The Consular Assistance Unit in Islamabad were nominated in recognition of their work pushing back the boundaries of support for vulnerable British nationals , focussing on human rights and equality and actively fighting forced marriage – visiting villages and talking directly to the young men or women involved. They help victims return to the UK, where they are supported by our cross-governmental Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), based in the FCO. The FMU, which comprises staff from the Home Office and the FCO, works with refuges and NGOs to provide safety and support.
The award also recognises the importance of our Pakistani staff – without their local knowledge and expertise we could not do this work. They are central to everything we do. Indeed, the Assistance Unit is now headed by an inspiring member of our Pakistani staff, Albert David, whose cultural sensitivity is often central to the successful completion of rescues. Helen Rawlins, who recently returned to London on completion of her posting as Head of Consular Services in Pakistan, accepted the award on behalf of the Assistance Unit.
Helen said
'Working with the team in Islamabad was an inspiration. Every day they tackled the most difficult cases with the utmost dedication – never afraid to try new approaches and to challenge established practice. The award is a fantastic recognition of the way the FCO can achieve results through harnessing the skills of all staff and empowering them to innovate and lead.'
Julian Braithwaite, Director of Consular Services, said:
'I am proud of this further recognition of our cutting edge work on Forced Marriage, and especially of the leading role played by the Consular Assistance Unit in Islamabad. This approach is echoed throughout our consular work, where utilising the skills and innovation of all staff is vital to our success in providing support to British nationals. The Islamabad team represent the best of the British civil service.'
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