Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Acknowledged
FCDO budget cuts reduce UK's UN effectiveness, ceding influence to competitors.
Conclusion
We are concerned about the cuts to the FCDO’s budget, including those to the Directorate responsible for multilateral organisations such as the UN. Such measures will reduce the UK’s ability to be an effective penholder at the United Nations and to lead on the resolution of global conflict through the United Nations Security Council. More so, these cuts risk ceding further influence to China and Russia within the multilateral system. Indeed, such detrimental measures open the door, willingly, to our competitors and adversaries. (Conclusion, Paragraph 60)
Government Response Summary
The government agrees the UK should continue to put forward and debate issues as a UN Security Council penholder, emphasizing a pragmatic and tailored approach to maximize positive impact and avoid normalizing vetoes. It highlights its use of various formats and meeting types to prompt debate, but does not directly address the committee's concern about budget cuts.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
33. HMG agrees that we should continue to put forward, raise and debate issues within the UN Security Council on files where the UK holds the pen. The situations before the Security Council are, of course, complex and sensitive. Therefore, the UK needs to take a pragmatic approach, considering whether action taken in the Council or outside of the Council would have the most positive impact on the ground in terms of conflict resolution. 34. Where possible, UN Security Council products should be put forward where progress is deemed possible, to avoid normalising or reducing the threshold for a veto. When putting forward a product, HMG considers which format is best suited to a certain topic, not limited to UN Security Council resolutions but also utilising other formats including Presidential Statements (PRSTs) and Press Statements. HMG also pursues action by calling a variety of meetings including in both formal and informal formats, to prompt debate within the Council or bringing an expert to brief Council Members on the situation on the ground. We tailor our response to the best likelihood of success in managing each individual conflict. 35. Together, UK efforts support the UN Security Council’s role in maintaining international peace and security, while also positioning the UK as a Member State which engages genuinely and productively, as opposed to states who are content to hinder and obstruct the Council’s work. The function of a penholder at the UN Security Council, while more difficult now than perhaps previously, is to find consensus and to develop outcomes and products which support a sustainable and durable peace.