Calls to waive veto in cases of atrocities

Two initiatives urging countries on the United Nations Security Council to renounce voluntarily their veto in certain cases are unlikely to be accepted by the council's Permanent Members. But their backers believe they could make states think twice before exercising this power.  France and Mexico launched a political declaration this week that calls for the Permanent Members – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – to waive their veto to block resolutions that aim at preventing or ending cases of mass atrocities such as genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.  For its part, a Swiss-coordinated group of UN member states that operates under the acronym ACT (Accountability, Coherence, Transparency) presented a Code of Conduct with the same goal but a broader scope: it addresses not only the Permanent Members but all present and future Non-Permanent Members of the Council.  More than 75 countries have signed the French-Mexican declaration, while ...