UK backs initiative urging restraint on UN vetoes over atrocities

The United Kingdom has signed an initiative urging the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to withhold their vetoes when the council considers cases involving mass atrocities, including genocide. Countries leading the initiative said on Monday that the UK had joined the effort. The proposal seeks voluntary restraint by the council’s permanent members rather than a formal change to the veto system.

Mexico and France first proposed the initiative in 2015. Its stated focus is on situations in which the use of a veto could affect international action over severe abuses, according to the information provided by the initiative’s supporters. The initiative now has the backing of 128 countries, its sponsors said.

The available report did not provide further details about the UK’s announcement, the identities of all supporting countries or any response from other permanent members of the council. The Security Council’s permanent members are the countries whose positions can determine whether council resolutions proceed when a veto is cast. The initiative’s supporters are calling on those states to exercise that power with restraint in cases involving mass atrocities.