Among United Nations’ Most Important Missions Is Preventing Genocide, Deputy Secretary-General Tells Security Council

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks to the Security Council meeting on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in New York today:

One of the greatest missions of the United Nations is the prevention of genocide.  The horrors of the past and the dangers of the present remind us of the importance of this mission.

The genocide at Srebrenica was one of the darkest chapters in recent history.  In three days, family and community members, faith leaders, dignitaries and representatives from around the world will gather in Srebrenica to honour the victims.  I will travel there to represent the United Nations on behalf of the Secretary-General.

Today, we meet here in New York to pay our respects to all victims and to share in the grief of the affected families and communities.  We gather in humility and regret to recognize the failure of the United Nations and the international community to prevent this tragedy.

But, we also meet to proclaim our determination that the lessons learned from those unspeakable days in July 1995 must help us detect the dangers earlier.  We must build an Organization that is better equipped to keep such crimes and atrocities from re-occurring.

The United Nations has acknowledged its responsibility for failing to protect the people who sought shelter and relief in Srebrenica.  The 1999 Report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly identified the mistakes committed by the Organization and by the wider international community.  That same year, the Independent Inquiry into the actions of the United Nations during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda found similar deficiencies.

We have since then worked in many ways to implement the recommendations of the reports.  Prevention has become an imperative.  A Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has been appointed.  International criminal tribunals have brought perpetrators of heinous crimes to justice.

The 2005 General Assembly endorsement of the responsibility to protect made the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity a core State and international responsibility.

Peacekeepers are now regularly provided with robust mandates to protect civilians.  They are often authorized to use all necessary means in defence of populations.  But, peacekeepers continue to face many of the same challenges that plagued the United Nations in Srebrenica, not least paralysing divisions among Member States and a lack of political and material support.

The “Human Rights Up Front” initiative is generating structural changes inside the Organization, which aim to improve our efforts to take early preventive action.  The Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect have developed a Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, a useful tool to assess risks and develop prevention strategies.

The United Nations and its Member States, as well as regional organizations, have an obligation to strengthen our collective prevention efforts, and to find peaceful solutions in the spirit of Chapter VI and VIII of the United Nations Charter.

The Security Council has a central role to play.  We see today how situations can deteriorate and get out of control when the Council is divided.  The carnage in Syria has undoubtedly taken a toll on the reputation and standing of the Council and the United Nations.

Atrocious crimes are today also taking place in Iraq, South Sudan and elsewhere.  Extremist groups, like ISIL [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham], Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, are seemingly competing in brutality with the aim of spreading fear and divisions among populations.  As the Charter and as morality direct us, we must unite our strength against such atrocious acts and threats.  When we are running out of words in our outrage, we have to take action and live up to basic values and principles.

All of us share the same objective — to work towards a world which has finally learned the horrific lessons of the past and where people can live in peace and dignity, as is their right and aspiration.

The world looks to us here at the United Nations and to the United Nations Security Council and expects us to uphold that right and to meet those aspirations.

That is our shared responsibility today.  And it is how we can best pay homage to the victims of Srebrenica.  I thank you.