UNA-UK has written to all major UK political parties, asking them for a statement on the United Nations. By shedding light on the approaches taken by different parties we hope to contribute to an informed national conversation on foreign policy, and help raise awareness of the ways in which the international system delivers benefits to British citizens.
Read more on this initiative and read other parties' statements
The Liberal Democrats' approach to the United Nations
The Liberal Democrats believe in an open, modern and inclusive Britain that stands tall in the world and doesn’t hide from it. Because of this, and as proud internationalists, we understand first and foremost that it is only through international cooperation that we can hope to address the very real challenges that we currently face both as a country and as a global community.
We therefore believe it is vital that for Britain to continue to work actively and constructively with our allies and partners in the European Union, Commonwealth, and NATO to engage with and develop policy responses that promote liberal internationalism and an international rules-based system.
This, of course, also applies to the United Nations. We are delighted to see that the UNA-UK has made Keeping Britain Global the focus of their upcoming report and have identified arms controls, human rights, nuclear disarmament, peacekeeping and preventing atrocities as the UK’s key focus areas for the next year. These are all issues that the Liberal Democrats have a proud history of campaigning and advocating for.
We believe that the UK’s current arms export control system should be tightened so that it is even more robust and transparent. We are calling for the introduction a “presumption of denial” of arms sales applications to countries with human rights concerns, a new law to create a register of arms dealers in Britain and end-user certification to certify that the buyer of arms would not sell them on to another country.
We also believe that, as a member of the P5 and a signatory to the NPT, the UK has a responsibility to seek to reinvigorate multilateral nuclear disarmament initiatives and place itself at the forefront of reducing the prospect of a nuclear exchange through operational and stockpile warhead reductions, de-alerting, confidence-building measures and other disarmament actions.
The Liberal Democrats have also always made absolutely clear our unequivocal support for Britain’s role as a world leader in providing aid and assistance to those in most need around the world. That’s why we will continue to advocate and defend at all times both the 0.7% aid target and the NATO commitment of spending 2% of GNP on defence.
One of the key and immediate challenges that the UN faces is the crisis in Syria, which has tragically seen hundreds of thousands of innocent people lose their lives in recent years. It will be fundamental that the United Kingdom leads international efforts in the UN to get the international community and regional powers back round the negotiating table, so that it can fulfil its humanitarian commitments in the region, resolve a diplomatic solution to the conflict and ensure the protection of civilians from military action.
We are without doubt facing a difficult and challenging period of time both domestically and on the international stage, where Britain’s role in the world is being called into question. The retreat into isolationism and the dangerous appeal of nationalism is being offered as cynical quick-fix solution to the challenges that we face. Yet, like you, we know that the only option is to keep Britain global .
The Liberal Democrats will continue to champion the case for a liberal, internationalist Britain that puts faith in openness and global institutions to work towards a better society.
