UK backs push to curb veto power of UN Security Council members

The United Kingdom has added its voice to a growing coalition seeking to limit the veto authority of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Mexican foreign minister Roberto Velasco said in a joint statement that 128 states now back a political declaration originally proposed by Mexico and France in 2015. This figure is just one short of the two-thirds threshold required for a formal UN member-state majority.

The Security Council has been hampered in recent years by deep splits among the permanent members—France, the UK, Russia, China and the United States—leading to paralysis on several issues. Although any resulting resolution would be non-binding, proponents aim to make it politically harder for a permanent member to invoke its veto in cases of severe emergencies. The effort is timed ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly session, where officials hope to secure the necessary support.