In a joint statement on 21/9, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his Mexican counterpart Roberto Velasco announced that the UK had joined an initiative calling on permanent members of the United Nations Security Council not to use their veto power on issues related to mass atrocities such as genocide.

"By supporting this political declaration, nations are demonstrating their commitment to ensuring the Security Council can fully carry out its primary responsibility in maintaining international peace and security," the joint statement read.

A UN Security Council session at its headquarters in New York, US, on 11/3. *Photo: AP*

The UK is one of the 5 permanent members of the Security Council, alongside the US, Russia, France, and China. France and Mexico, who first proposed the initiative in 2015, stated that 128 nations have supported this effort.

The initiative needs only one more nation to reach the two-thirds threshold of total United Nations member states agreeing to participate. In May, a diplomatic source shared with AFP that France hoped to achieve this goal before the United Nations General Assembly session opened this week in the US.

Even if adopted, the resolution will not be legally binding. However, participating nations hope the effort can make it more difficult for permanent Security Council members to use their veto power in urgent and exceptionally serious situations.

Thanh Tam (According to AFP, Asharq Al-Awsat)