Barack Obama means "never again"..but

since the Holocaust, a constant refrain in the United States has been “never again,” but U.S. President after U.S. President has sat back and let genocides happen over and over, whether Cambodia or Rwanda. What does “never again” mean to you as a U.S. President, especially given the fact that genocide is going on right now in Darfur? There were accusations of genocide in Sri Lanka a few weeks ago. What does it mean to you? And are you doing everything you can to make sure “never again” is not a hollow refrain?

On the issue of genocide, I think “never again” means that the international community has a obligation, even when it’s inconvenient, to act when genocide is occurring. So on the issue of Darfur, for example, I didn’t simply mention it in a speech yesterday before a Muslim audience, talking about genocide that’s taking place within a majority Muslim country, but I also raised it in discussions with President Mubarak of Egypt, who has strong diplomatic relations with the country of Sudan.

"I would like to take this opportunity to warn against the risk of triumphalism in the wake of victory," Ban told reporters after he briefed the 15-member Security Council on his visit to ethnically divided Sri Lanka last month.

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The UN boss also called on Colombo to "recognize international calls for accountability and transparency."

"Whenever and wherever there are credible allegations of violations of humanitarian law, there should be a proper investigation," he noted.