Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Harness UK's global convenor status to engage like-minded states in conflict resolution.
Recommendation
The UK Government should be more confident in its role at the UN, harnessing its status as a global convenor, and drawing upon the UK’s diplomatic expertise to engage like-minded states in resolving conflict in cases where it is not possible to reach agreement at the United Nations Security Council. The Government should leverage its alliances and influence in its continued collaborative efforts to work with European countries, the Commonwealth, NATO and the US, to actively build creative and fresh blocs and coalitions to advance the agenda of conflict resolution. Within these organisations, the UK should prove its value by exercising leadership in line with international law and accountability and link these efforts to its agenda at the United Nations Security Council. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47) 46
Government response summary AI-generated
The government confirms it is a leading advocate for UN reform and has a dedicated Management Reform and Finance team for budgetary issues. It outlines its roadmap for UN80 reform, focused on building support for greater impact, enhanced coherence, stronger partnerships, and better value for money, with specific objectives to improve country-level impact, rationalize structures, and facilitate greater join-up.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
14. HMG continues to be a leading player in the UN context. HMG also remains committed to utilising the skills and capability held by UK Missions and diplomats to confidently work towards resolving conflicts where it is not possible to do so within the UN Security Council, including using the UK’s full range of bilateral and multilateral relationships. While conflict prevention and resolution has a narrower definition within organisations such as the OSCE, the UK’s policy is to exercise leadership in line with international law and accountability. This is supported when efforts in one forum are then reinforced and amplified across all our multilateral equities. We have leveraged this via our chairing of the OSCE Security Committee in 2025 and 2026, and the Forum for Security Cooperation in late 2026. 15. HMG’s response to Russian aggression, which was called out in the UN Security Council and responded to by NATO forces, is an example of a complimentary and functional response across multiple multilateral organisations. Wider multinational initiatives such as the Coalition of the Willing focus on the potential for a combined effort to maximise the contributions of each Member State. 16. HMG is engaging closely with the US across all files in the UN Security Council. Since the publication of the Committee’s report we have, for example, cooperated closely with the US and other partners in the Council to agree UN mandate renewals including most recently on Yemen, South Sudan, and Haiti in addition to Western Sahara, Libya, and Colombia.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗