Mexico and France Agree to Insist on Initiative to Limit the Veto in the UN Security Council

ByIván Evair Saldaña

This article by Iván Evair Saldaña originally appeared in the July 27, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left-wing daily newspaper.

Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco agreed this Monday with his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, to insist on the Franco-Mexican initiative to limit the use of the veto in the Security Council of the United Nations Organization (UN) in cases of mass atrocities.

The Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported on social media that, in a telephone call, the officials in charge of each country’s foreign policy also agreed on the need to seek the adhesion of more countries to the initiative, which was presented back in August 2015 and to date has the support of 120 of the Member States.

The initiative proposes that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council —China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Russia— abstain from exercising their right of veto in cases of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity, in order to avoid the paralysis of the body and strengthen the United Nations’ capacity to respond to the most serious violations of international law.

“This Monday, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Velasco (@r_velascoa), held a working call with France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot), to follow up on the cooperation agreements stemming from President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to President Claudia Sheinbaum.

“They also spoke at length about the joint efforts to promote the Franco-Mexican initiative for restricting the use of the veto in the UN Security Council in cases of mass atrocities and to secure the adhesion of more countries to this initiative,” the SRE noted.

The officials of both nations also discussed the relaunch of the Franco-Mexican Strategic Council (CEFM) to promote and boost bilateral economic relations.