Human Rights Up Front: An Overview

The Secretary-General’s 2012 Internal Review Panel (IRP)1 on UN action at the end of the war in Sri Lanka concluded there had been a “systemic failure” in meeting UN responsibilities to prevent and respond to serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law and to protect people at risk. The Secretary-General called for action to address the lessons of the past, and to ensure the UN fully meets its prevention responsibilities in all countries. This led to the development of the Human Rights up Front (HRuF) Action Plan.