UK's membership of organisations

• benefits of united nation (UN)

  • the UK is a permanent member of the security council, which gives it a veto on any UN actions
  • the UK can count on assistance from other members in event of a disaster
  • the UK has access to financial help from the UN's world bank agency
  • UK citizens benefit as UN members take human rights seriously
• commitments of united nations (UN)

  • the UK has to pay a membership fee
  • the UK has to contribute troops to peace keeping missions around the world
  • being a permanment member of the security council is a big commitment. the UK has a key role in maintaining global peace and in selecting the UN secretary general, who leads the organisation
• benefits of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

  • the UK's military can share expert knowledge with friendly countries, which makes success in conflict more likely
  • working with other like-minded countries improves the security of the UK as it can rely on their help if attacked
• commitments of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

  • the UK is committed to send troops to serve under NATO command if another member is under threat as "an attack on one is an attack on all"
  • the UK is committed to spending 2% of its budget on funding NATO
• benefits of commonwealth

  • the commonwealth is a mutually supporting community, so the UK benefits from strong relationships with other countries
  • pursuing shared goals makes the UK stronger and more likely to succeed in trade, climate change and democracy
  • the UK could rely on the support of the other members if attacked or if a disaster
• commitments of commonwealth

  • the commonwealth charter commits the UK to uphold peace, democracy, human rights and protection of the environment
  • the UK pays into the commonwealth for the benefit of a member nations. for example in 2018 it announced a £500m commitment to tackle malaria, spent £212m education of girls and committed £61m to tackle plastic waste
• benefits of World Trade Organisation (WTO)

  • trade barriers for UK companies are reduced with other members so there are larger markets for UK goods
  • trade is smoother as members know the rules and stick to them
  • it helps to resolve trade disputes
  • all members get "most favoured nation" status, so there can be no favouritism
• commitments of World Trade Organisation (WTO)

  • membership involves a commitment to avoid barriers to trade and to abide by WTO resolution of disputes
  • "most favoured nation" status means the UK cannot be biased in favour of UK companies
  • when a member of the EU, the UK operates under EU rules as part of its WTO membership, so Brexit may cause changes