Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of prospects for removing the UN Security Council P5 veto right in cases of genocide and other atrocity crimes.

The veto rights of the permanent members of the UN Security Council are set out in the UN Charter. Removing those rights would require amending the Charter. As specified in Articles 108 and 109 of the Charter, any such amendments would ultimately require ratification by all the permanent members of the Security Council.

The UK Government supports responsible use of the veto. The veto is a great responsibility, which should be used to preserve global peace. The UK is a proud supporter of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency (ACT) Code of Conduct, through which we have committed not to vote against - and therefore not to veto - a credible draft Security Council resolution which would end or prevent a mass atrocity. We continue to encourage other members of the Security Council, and the wider UN membership, to become signatories to the ACT Code of Conduct.