Shaped by war, Bosnian leader chides UN inaction on Ukraine
Bosnia’s leader is decrying the failure of the United Nations to prevent war in Ukraine
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Bosnia’s leader decried the failure of the United Nations to prevent the war in Ukraine, saying Wednesday it was a chilling repeat of his country's own brutal conflict three decades ago.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly, Sefik Dzaferovic, the chairman of the three-person presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, criticized the Security Council’s inability to adopt a binding resolution or statement on the war.
“The United Nations system was unable to prevent or stop the war in my country ... Unfortunately, that happened again,” Dzaferovic said. The Security Council, he said, "is evidently unable to fulfill its obligations.”
The Security Council’s post-World War II structure gives veto powers to five nations — the United States, China, Britain, France and Russia, the aggressor in the Ukraine war. Russia’s presence on the council has thwarted more substantive actions. The larger 193-nation General Assembly, which doesn’t have vetoes, adopted resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian forces.
