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UNA-UK launches report on the UK's record at the Security Council

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Following an event in January that convened more than 100 former and current UN diplomats and civil servants to assess the UK's record on international peace and security, UNA-UK has produced a report capturing the main themes of the discussion.

The report focuses on the obstacles faced by those working on the Security Council and how they affect the UN's ability to prevent and respond to conflict. It then analyses the overall record of the UK at the Council, finding that it is a highly productive member that has worked hard to justify its permament seat. The final section of the report considers the main concerns raised by participants about the UK's capacity to retain its influence on the Council, given, for example, the recent spending cuts to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

The report ends with recommendations drawn from the insights of seminar participants. These include a call for the UK Government to reconsider its investment in diplomacy and to improve knowledge and understanding of the UN across Whitehall. It also calls for the UK to continue its progressive approach to the UN Security Council, supporting improvements to the Council's working methods to strengthen transparency, accountability and effectiveness.  

The event on which the report is based took the form of a 'witness seminar' - the third in a series which sought to collect the personal testimony of British citizens who have worked in or with the UN system over the course of its life span. Speakers and attendees included the current UK Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Matthew Rycroft; former Under-Secretary-General, Sir Kieran Prendergast; former UN Deputy Secretary-General, Lord Malloch-Brown; and former Deputy Director of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Maggie Nicholson. 

In addition to the report, UNA-UK has published the written 'witness briefs' submitted by speakers and attendees in the lead up to the event. The full audio recording of the event is also available online. Transcripts and reports from the preceding witness seminars will be available online in due course courtesy of the Bodleian Library's UN Career Records Project.

Read the full report here

Read the witness briefs here

Listen to the seminar here

Photo credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas