Oxfam has urged the US, Russia, India and Brazil to support a UN reform that would require the organisation to act quickly to prevent genocide.

The international charity accuses the four countries of blocking UN plans designed to stop atrocities such as the 1994 Rwanda genocide happening again.

This is one of the reforms due to be discussed at a UN summit next month and the proposal would oblige the international community to take action to prevent genocide if governments failed to do so.

According to Oxfam, other countries opposing the move include Syria, Iran, Cuba, Pakistan, Egypt and Algeria.

Oxfam also claims that the US, while publicly supporting the reform, is seeking a watered down version, which would render it ineffective, but governments supporting the call for strong language in the draft statement include Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Canada and the EU.