Cleverly to call for UN Security Council expansion at ‘turning point of history’

The Foreign Secretary is expected to call for an expansion of the United Nations Security Council to better respond to international crises such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

James Cleverly will use a speech at Chatham House’s London Conference to call for a reinvigorated multi-country system that is equipped to deal with the most pressing global challenges, including Moscow’s attack on Kyiv, tackling unlawful migration, the technological revolution and climate change.

The UN Security council currently has five permanent members – the UK, US, China, Russia and France, with 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

Mr Cleverly will argue that, with the world currently “living through a turning point in the history of humanity”, the make-up should change, urging permanent African representation and membership for India, Brazil, Germany and Japan on the international security panel.

In the 2020s, as in the 1940s, we are living through a turning point in the history of humanity

The G20 should also be widened, Mr Cleverly will tell the conference, with permanent membership for the African Union, a body that has a membership of 55 countries.

According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, he will say the UK wants to “work with as broad a coalition as possible” on worldwide challenges and that it should be “obvious” that the “voice of the poorest and most vulnerable countries must be heard strongly in the multilateral system”.

In his speech on Thursday, the Foreign Secretary will call for reform of international finance institutions, including changes to make it simpler to unlock climate finance.

He will press for a shake-up of the World Trade Organisation to “reflect today’s digital economy”, according to officials.

He will also raise the need for a multilateral approach to regulation when it comes to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).

It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spent recent months positioning the UK as the prospective home of a global AI regulator.

The Foreign Secretary is expected to say: “Global multilateralism brings the sheer heft that is needed to tackle humanity’s most fundamental challenges.

“That’s why the United Kingdom cares deeply about multilateralism. We’re deeply invested in it. And we want it to succeed and thrive.

“Because a world without multilateral institutions would be immeasurably worse.

“Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine is a calculated assault on the UN Charter, and on the central principles of an international order that was designed, above all, to bring an end to all attempts at conquest and annexation.

“But war is not our only challenge.

“In the 2020s, as in the 1940s, we are living through a turning point in the history of humanity.

“A period of dizzying and rapid economic, demographic, technological and social change.”

On migration, Mr Cleverly is expected to say the UK will “not be found wanting” when it comes to rising to the “moral challenge” the world faces.

“Stopping illegal migration to the United Kingdom begins with ensuring that the poorest people in the world have access to clean water, sanitation, basic healthcare and education,” he will say.

At the event on Thursday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will be awarded the Chatham House Prize in recognition of his contribution to international relations.

Mr Zelensky hopes to make a short live virtual address to the conference with a special representative collecting the award on his behalf, according to the institute.

Bronwen Maddox, director of Chatham House, said: “The people of Ukraine have faced a relentless onslaught in this brutal invasion.

“President Zelensky has united his nation in resistance and counter-offensive, and demonstrated a mastery of international diplomacy. I am delighted that he has accepted our award in recognition of these efforts.”