2nd Report - The write to protect: Britain’s pen on the world stage

The government states it is already committed to leveraging its diplomatic expertise and overseas network, actively countering disinformation and using UN platforms to denounce malign activity and champion rights. It highlights ongoing efforts to challenge Russian abuses within the UN system but does not outline a specific new strategy or roadmap.

The government states it continues to be a leading player in the UN context, utilizing its skills to resolve conflicts and exercise leadership in line with international law. It provides examples of ongoing engagement with the US on UN Security Council mandate renewals and its response to Russian aggression across multiple multilateral organisations.

The government commits to ensuring that UK missions to the UN will continue to be staffed at appropriate levels with high-calibre individuals. It notes that the FCDO is becoming a smaller, more agile organisation and is making strategic decisions to retain capability and ensure a higher proportion of staff are overseas.

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.

The government states it already champions broad and thorough engagement when penholding, consulting widely and championing co-penning with relevant Member States, citing examples with African members and Sierra Leone. However, it rejects a 'one size fits all' approach to co-penning, arguing it is not appropriate for every agenda item.

The government implicitly accepts by confirming its close engagement with relevant regional non-permanent Security Council members on UK penheld files, including UNOCA.

The government agrees, outlining its firm commitment to Colombia's peace process through diplomatic engagement, multilateral coordination, and UK-drafted press statements. It details its support for the UN Verification Mission, engagement with partners and civil society, and its role as the second largest donor to the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund, with over £80 million committed since 2015.

The government agrees and outlines its actions as penholder and Guarantor Power, including leading the unanimous renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate, supporting UN-led settlement efforts, and actively engaging all parties to encourage a return to formal talks.

The government agrees and details its actions as penholder for Libya, including consistently using the UN platform, leading the renewal of the Libya sanctions regime with significant changes, advocating for elections, and leading the recent renewal of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) mandate. It also continues to explore co-penning press statements.

The government disagrees with the implicit premise of the recommendation, stating it already steadfastly commits to upholding international humanitarian law and protecting civilians in conflict. They detail ongoing efforts as penholder, consistently pressing for humanitarian access in the UN Security Council and taking private diplomatic action to protect civilians.

The government partially agrees, detailing extensive ongoing efforts and future plans to promote peace and security in Sudan. These include continued UN Security Council engagement despite obstruction, securing an accountability mechanism and special HRC session, designing FCDO programmes for sexual health and women-led organisations, and regular engagement with Sudanese civil society and diaspora groups.

The government agrees with the committee, outlining its ongoing commitment and active work as penholder for resolution 1325 to implement the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. They detail current efforts including securing specific language in mandate renewals and the Foreign Secretary's commitment to strategic female involvement in peace and security.

The government agrees, outlining that the UK Mission in New York includes women at every stage of the WPS penholding process and consults women experts. It details its strategy to defend and strengthen WPS language by deploying expert negotiators and diplomatic influence, citing recent successes in Colombia and South Sudan, and reaffirms a commitment to strategic women's involvement.

The government agrees and confirms its leading role as UN Security Council penholder and largest donor, committing to continue pushing for long-term peace and security in Yemen. It will use monthly UNSC meetings to highlight human costs, advocate for women and girls' safety, protect civilians, and work closely with the UN Special Envoy and Yemeni stakeholders for a sustainable political settlement and maritime security.

The government outlines its ongoing leadership and engagement in international diplomacy and conflict resolution, including specific partnerships and UN Security Council actions. They commit to launching a second iteration of the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action in 2026 to support a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

The government states it continues to work closely with the US to resolve global conflicts and will continue to engage the wider membership of the UN Security Council. It specifically commits to hosting a conference at Wilton Park this autumn with incoming, current, and outgoing African Council members.

The government details its substantial contributions to UN budgets and reaffirms its commitment to restoring ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when fiscal conditions allow. It plans to publish indicative ODA allocations for the next three years, prioritizing multilateral institutions, but states it cannot commit to ringfencing future spend.

The government outlines its continuous investment in UN peacebuilding and the UN-IFI Partnership Facility, and details existing FCDO resources, research programs, and partnerships focused on conflict prevention, resolution, and peacebuilding.

The government's response explains its ongoing commitment and actions as a UN Security Council penholder to protect civilians and uphold international humanitarian law, stating its national interest aligns with these efforts. It does not directly address the benefits of co-penholding or how it might strengthen UK soft power and alliances.

The government states its work as UN Security Council penholder on Sudan has sought to improve visibility and push for aid access, despite Russian obstructionism. It describes continuing efforts to engage the UNSC, securing an accountability mechanism in the Human Rights Council, designing programs for women-led organizations, and regular engagement with Sudanese civil society.

The government agrees with the committee's recommendation regarding Yemen, stating it will continue to use its interventions at monthly UN Security Council meetings to highlight the human cost of the conflict, push for the safety of women and girls, and condemn detentions. It also commits to actively exploring options to raise awareness of food security levels and work for a political settlement.

The government agrees with the committee's commendation, detailing its ongoing commitment as penholder, support for the 2016 Peace Agreement, and significant diplomatic and financial engagement in Colombia, including over £80 million in programming since 2015 and leadership in renewing the UN Verification Mission mandate.

The government agrees with the importance of Libya but outlines numerous past and ongoing actions at the UN Security Council, including leading sanctions renewal, calling for elections, and renewing the UNSMIL mandate, to demonstrate its continuous engagement and challenge the premise of neglect.

The government agrees with the conclusion, affirming its leading role as UN Security Council penholder on Yemen and the largest donor to the humanitarian response. They detail ongoing diplomatic efforts, monthly UN Security Council interventions, and exploration of options to raise awareness of food insecurity, while continuing to push for a political settlement.