Why the United Nations keeps failing victims of atrocity crimes

Abstract

Despite expert warnings of imminent genocide in Darfur, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza, as well as other atrocity crimes continuing unabated in many parts of the world, the United Nations remains impotent in the face of such horrors. While the U.N. Security Council is usually blamed for the organization’s inaction, the U.N. is much more than the 15-member council. When the U.N. has done little or nothing to stop atrocity crimes in Myanmar, Yemen, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, it means that not only the Security Council has failed, but also the system as a whole – including the 193 member States that make up the U.N. General Assembly, and all of the different offices, agencies, and funds charged with protection responsibilities. Besides a lack of political will by member States, tensions between the U.N.’s competing agendas present a major obstacle to action on situations of atrocity risk. To turn this situation around, strong leadership from the Secretariat that prioritizes atrocity prevention and response, combined with pressure from committed member States, is urgently needed.