Tackling conflict effectively requires involvement in preventing conflict, mediation and resolution, peacekeeping and peace building.

Britain’s global interests and responsibility as a permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council mean that we have to act across the world.

We work closely with partner nations and international organisations, both internationally and on a domestic level, to review and strengthen the UK government’s conflict work and to plan conflict-prevention programmes.

Our work includes:

• promoting Responsibility to Protect (R2P), international commitment by governments to protect the world’s populations from major atrocities, including genocide, human rights abuses and other humanitarian crises
• raising the profile of specific human security issues
• leading efforts to improve early warning of conflict, which will allow the UK and international partners to intervene earlier and more effectively to prevent violent conflict

Through the Conflict Prevention Pool we fund projects aimed at delivering long-term conflict prevention activity. Programmes include work to:

• build the capacity of international organisations, including the United Nations and African Union (AU)
• improve international efforts to reform the security sector
• tackle the root causes of conflict in individual countries.

The UK plays a leading role in the United Nations Security Council in making sure that peacekeeping operations are properly managed.

Through the Stabilisation Unit, we’re working in partnership with other UK government departments -both nationally and internationally - to improve international civil-military capability to coordinate action between civil andmilitary parties managing crisis.

The Stabilisation Unit also supports countries emerging from conflict.

We support the promotion of good governance and rule of law in countries rebuilding themselves after conflict. This work includes:

• funding the Rule of Law Unit at the United Nations
  
• coordinating judicial expertise through a cross-government justice assistance network
  
• recruiting and deploying justice advisers, prisons advisers and police experts.

More about our preventing and resolving conflict goal
Find out more about this work around the world using the FCO in Action interactive map