France and Mexico launched the veto-restraint initiative in 2015
Britain has become the second permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to formally commit to voluntarily refraining from using its veto in votes concerning mass atrocities, joining an initiative France and Mexico first proposed in 2015. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced Britain’s commitment Monday during a meeting with his French and Mexican counterparts in New York, where world leaders gathered for the start of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual high-level week.
“The UK is proud to join and remains committed to responsible use of the veto,” Britain’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the meeting.
The Franco-Mexican initiative, introduced in 2015, calls on permanent Security Council members to voluntarily abstain from using their veto in votes concerning mass atrocities, including crimes against humanity, genocide, and large-scale war crimes. France and Mexico welcomed Miliband’s announcement in a joint statement, saying it “demonstrates the shared determination of the United Kingdom and the other supporters of this initiative to protect the dignity and worth of the human person and to promote more effective, action-oriented multilateralism that puts people first.”
The two countries added that states signing the political declaration “demonstrate their commitment to ensuring that the Security Council is able to fully exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.”
Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States are the five permanent members of the Security Council, each holding veto power. The system has long attracted criticism for allowing a single permanent member to block action on major international issues, even when a resolution has the support of a majority of the 15-member council. Russia vetoed a Security Council draft condemning its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and China and Russia jointly vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in March 2024 that said an immediate and sustained cease-fire in Gaza was imperative.
Britain and France last used their vetoes in 1989, when both countries, alongside the United States, vetoed a draft resolution condemning the U.S. invasion of Panama.
The announcement comes amid a renewed push behind the initiative as France holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month during the high-level meetings. France and Mexico held meetings in April to relaunch the joint initiative amid concern over Security Council paralysis as it deals with pressing issues including the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran.
According to France, 128 states have expressed support for the political declaration, with 21 of them having done so in the last four months.