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Author: Tommy Lunn

As students, we are in a unique position to have our voices heard. Be it in France in 1968 or China in 1989, students have made their ideas and opinions clear. Progress has been made at the hands of other students, and now it is our turn to do the same.

In 2016, we find ourselves at an historic moment in time. The world is rapidly changing – there is nothing new about that. However, this time around, the ability to participate is at our doorstep. Aegis Students, the youth branch of the international NGO Aegis Trust, has chosen to call upon the permanent members of the UN Security Council to restrain their use of the veto in situations of mass atrocities.

UN-VETOWhy have we chosen such a call to action? Aegis Trust is an NGO dedicated to put to an end genocide and other atrocity crimes such as crimes against humanity. As such, we believe that the P5’s veto power is intrinsically related to this goal. In situations past, present, and future, members of the P5 have used or threatened to use their veto. This has allowed for situations such as in Rwanda, Kosovo, and Syria to take place and to take lives. We can observe such a phenomenon again in the contemporary but often overlooked situation in Burundi. If nothing is done to end or minimise the impacts of these crises, as has happened time and time again, inaction at the hands of the veto will continue to cost lives.

This is not a political movement; nor does this movement target one country or another. All five members of the P5 – China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. have made us of the veto in the past and will again in the future. It is also important to note that this restraint would only be used in case of atrocity crimes – the worst of the worst – and has no effect on the sovereignty or power of any one country.

Instead, this is a global movement to put ourselves aside and focus on the consequences of the veto in such a situation. Aegis Students and its partner American organisation, STAND, have rooted their campaigns in movements and proposals such as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the ACT Code of Conduct. The ACT Code of Conduct focuses on accountability, coherence, and transparency and is an initiative, signed by 109 UN member states, to create a protocol to eliminate the use of the veto in situations of mass atrocities. The world is changing and, while it is clear that momentum is gaining, we must do more.

This is why we are lobbying the U.K. government to formally give its support to a restraint of the veto in situations of crimes against humanity. If the British government were to give its support, the resulting pressure would likely see a domino effect play out within the rest of the P5. It is imperative that all five members of the P5 make this pledge. Thus, the poignancy of getting the ball rolling as soon as possible is evident.

As students of the LSE, we have the ability to help the movement. By spreading the word, pressuring the LSE Student Union to issue a statement, and by joining the campaign, we have the power to make the change. Write to your MPs, tell your friends and family. In the midst of crises and at the forefront of those to come, the time for action is now.

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