UK Backs Push to Restrict UN Security Council Veto Use

The United Kingdom has joined an international initiative calling on the permanent members of the UN Security Council to refrain from using their veto powers in cases involving mass atrocities, including genocide, the countries leading the campaign said Monday.

The initiative, originally proposed by Mexico and France in 2015, now has the backing of 128 countries, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said in a joint statement.

The latest support leaves the initiative just one country short of securing the backing of two-thirds of UN member states.

The UN Security Council has faced repeated deadlock in recent years due to divisions among its five permanent, veto-wielding members — France, the UK, Russia, China and the United States.

"By supporting this political declaration, states are demonstrating their commitment to ensuring that the Security Council can fully exercise its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security," Barrot and Velasco said.

A diplomatic source told AFP in May that France was aiming to secure the two-thirds threshold ahead of this year's UN General Assembly, which begins this week.

Even if the initiative achieves the required two-thirds support, the declaration would not be legally binding. However, its backers hope the move will create greater political pressure on permanent members to refrain from exercising their veto in cases involving severe humanitarian emergencies.