The United Nations Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said that the UN had failed to protect civilian lives in Sri Lanka during the final stages of the ethnic conflict, on Tuesday.
Acknowledging the need for the UN to be resolute in protecting civilians at a UN Security Council meeting commemorating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Srebrenica killings, Mr Hussein said,
“Had this been the case with Sri Lanka in 2009, or now in Sudan, Burundi or even Myanmar, the consequences for the lives of millions of people would be immense.”
Mr Hussein added that not all sides of the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict were equally guilty.
“More alarmingly, the United Nations made the mistake of believing what was complicated politically must also be complicated morally, when it was not. That all sides committed crimes was true, but that did not mean all sides were equally guilty.”
The comments were made ahead of a vote on a UK drafted resolution to condemn the Srebrenica massacres as a genocide.
TAG 'deeply disappointed' by UNSC failure to recognise Srebrenica genocide (09 Jul 2015)
Russia vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Srebrenica genocide (08 Jul 2015)
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