Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, in particular with regard to the military enforcement of UN resolutions; and what assessment, if any, they have made of the military capability required by a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

As one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the UK takes its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security very seriously. Through the Council we work hard to achieve constructive solutions to international crises, to promote British values and to confront threats to UK security.

While there are no requirements placed on permanent members of the Security Council by the UN Charter to maintain a particular level of military capability, the UK is fully committed to spending at least 2% of GDP on defence. We have participated in a number of missions authorised to use force by the Security Council, including the UN Protection Force in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. We are the fifth largest contributor to the UN's peacekeeping budget, and contribute around 600 peacekeepers to UN operations. The UK is the lead contributor to the UN mission in Cyprus. In March 2020 we concluded a four-year troop deployment to South Sudan. Later this year, we will deploy a Long Range Reconnaissance Task Group to MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping operation in Mali.