Corbyn opposed to UK troop deployment abroad without UN mandate
The front-runner in the Labour party's leadership race, Jeremy Corbyn, has voiced his opposition to any future deployment of British troops without a mandate from the United Nations.
During the last Sky News hustings of candidates before the leadership contest ends on 10 September, Corbyn said any armed intervention by British forces should be approved by the UN. “We should have stuck with the UN and given far more support to the UN. Surely we want to live in a world that is based on the rule of international law. The UN is quintessentially part of international law,” he said.
The troop deployment was one of the most detailed foreign policy discussions, in which, almost all candidates rejected the notion to deploy forces under the pretext of tackling Daesh terrorists. Corbyn indicated that he would struggle to see the circumstances in which he would agree to deploy forces.
Last month, in an interview with the Guardian, Corbyn had suggested that the deployment could be possible only in a conflict on the scale of the Second World War. He also explained how he had opposed the NATO campaign in Kosovo on the grounds that it lacked UN approval.
In a response to a question, he said that he would seek to end Britain’s role as the joint largest military power in Europe, with France. “We have to think about the level of armed expenditure we have in this country – £35bn a year. We are in the top five of military spending across the whole world”.
“We have to seriously look at those issues and look at the issues of nuclear weapons as well and what our foreign policy objectives actually are. Can we afford to have global reach as a country of 65 million people on the north-west coast of Europe? Should we not be more interested in supporting international law, working with the UN rather than deciding that we, as quite a small country, can afford this global role?,” he questioned.
Economy and Europe were other issues during Thursday’s hustings. Corbyn launched a strong attack on the EU. “I am concerned about the way the EU is increasingly operating like a free market across Europe, tearing up the social chapter, damaging the working class and workers’ interests across Europe”, he said.
With strong applaud from some 8,000 audience present there for live debate, Corbyn was declared the winner. According to an unofficial survey, Corbyn scored an overwhelming lead over his rivals with 80.6% of the vote ahead of Liz Kendall on 9.1%. Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham secured 5.7% and 4.6% respectively.
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