UN marks 10th anniversary of day of genocide prevention and commemoration

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday convened a high-level meeting focusing on strengthening resolve and efforts to combat genocide and other atrocities against humanity, in order to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, which is marked annually on 9 December.

Addressing the meeting, Chaloka Beyani, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, warned that UN member states still face significant unfinished work in countering the ideologies and acts of genocide.

"We must critically ask ourselves whether everything is being done to prevent the commission of the gravest of crimes. The answer seems to be sufficiently obvious: more needs to be done. More efforts are necessary when serious allegations of the commission of the crime of genocide are reaching us in this General Assembly Hall, when risk factors and indicators of this crime point the foreseeability of the likelihood of genocide," said Beyani.

Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, noted that wars and conflicts continue to flare up in various regions today, and the devastating impacts of genocide remain deeply felt, warning the dangers of racism, violence and hatred are far from being eradicated.

Translating the spirit of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide into reality remains a formidable and long-term task for the international community, he added.

"Remembering history is not about perpetuating hatred, but about awaking people's commitment to peace and conscience. Certain countries have continuously sought to whitewash Nazi’s history of aggression and deny its war crimes and crimes against humanity. This not only constitutes a gross trampling of international justice but also a blatant challenge to the post-war international order. China firmly opposes this," said Sun.