Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee

First report - In the room: the UK’s role in multilateral diplomacy

HC 199 Published 17 June 2021

Foreign Affairs Committee The UK’s role in strengthening multilateral organisations Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance2 recommendations · Government response published 10 September 2021

The government's response

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government responds on a report-by-report basis, agreeing with the Committee on defending the multilateral system, while setting out its own position on funding, INTERPOL, the WTO and aid conditionality.

On reform, it "agrees that large-scale reform, subject to intergovernmental negotiation, comes with potential risks as well as benefits" and says reform should not be "an end in itself".
On funding, it points to a new £340mn voluntary contribution to the WHO over four years, "linked to achievement of reform objectives", and says it will evaluate the mechanism at the end of that period.
It does not accept incentivising ICC compliance through development assistance: "we do not believe it is appropriate" and says conditionality of this type "does not work".
On INTERPOL, it says it is "considering" a joint statement against abuse of INTERPOL systems in a G7 communique, and says INTERPOL "has sufficient tools and measures" to address member behaviour.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

What the committee recommended 2

Sources

First report - In the room: the UK’s role in multilateral diplomacy ↗The committee's report, HC 199, parliament.uk
Second Special Report - Government response to the Committee’s First Report of Session 2021–22: In the room: the UK’s role in multilateral diplomacy ↗The government's response, 10 September 2021, parliament.uk

Recommendations and conclusions 2

39
We recommend that the Government’s engagement with multilaterals includes a tactical element of multilateral strategy... Recommendation · addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the Government’s engagement with multilaterals includes a tactical element of multilateral strategy such that it tracks the activities of authoritarian states within both higher and lower profile multilateral organisations, reports on implications of any moves to exert influence; and adjusts its interventions accordingly. We recommend that the FCDO should coordinate this unified approach across Whitehall, covering all multilateral organisations. Coalitions of like-minded states
43
We recommend the FCDO should take strategic decisions with key allies as to which organisations... Recommendation · addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend the FCDO should take strategic decisions with key allies as to which organisations the UK should prioritise exerting influence over rather than expending diplomatic capital challenging like-minded states for influence. 22 In the room: the UK’s role in multilateral diplomacy 4 Organisation-specific conclusions and recommendations