Fifty-five years ago, on this day, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide entered into force. Ever since, it has embodied the United Nation's aspiration to prevent massive and serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law.

Last year, at the 2005 World Summit, world leaders collectively affirmed the responsibility of each individual State to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Today, as we recall our collective failures in places like Rwanda and Srebrenica, it remains my hope that we may never again be found wanting where so many lives hang in the balance.

That is why I encourage Member States and non-governmental organizations to work with the United Nations, and with my Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, to develop the Organizations' capacity to provide early warning of potential genocidal situations. Simultaneously, the international community's capacity for preventive action must be strengthened, as should its ability to take timely and decisive measures in the face of serious human rights violations that may degenerate into genocide.