Purpose of Genocide Convention is to prevent genocide, Navi Pillay says

Former UN high commissioner for human rights and 2026 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay has said that the purpose of the Genocide Convention is to prevent genocide, and countries are obliged to step in when they learn of any genocidal conflict. In an interview with Sky News, Pillay reiterated call for prosecuting Israeli Prime Minister, president and former Israeli defence minister, either by national courts or by the International Criminal Court. "The purpose of the Genocide Convention is to prevent a genocide. The world doesn't want a genocide to happen and then react to it. Thousands of people get killed in these genocidal attacks. "Therefore, the focus of all states when they adopted the genocide convention is as soon as you hear that there might be genocidal conflict, you have to step in to prevent it. That's a legal obligation that rests on every state even if the genocide didn't happen in their own territory." Pillay said Israeli president, prime minister and former defence minister must be put on trial. (AFP)