Speaking in her last address to the Security Council in New York before leaving her post, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights sharply criticized the world body for failing to act as one to quell large scale conflicts.

"Short-term geopolitical considerations and national interest, narrowly defined, have repeatedly taken precedence over intolerable human suffering and grave breaches of - and long-term threats to international peace and security," said Navi Pillay, whose six-year term as the UN's human rights chief ends on August 30.

"I firmly believe that greater responsibility by this council would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives," she added.

Pillay specifically referred to the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, and Libya among others.

"These crises hammer home the full cost of the international community's failure to prevent conflict," she said.

Pillay pointed the finger at the permanent members of the Security Council, saying that the use of their veto powers to "stop action intended to prevent or defuse conflict is a short-term and ultimately counter-productive tactic."

'Limited consensus' problematic

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon struck a similar note to Pillay's in his speech, saying that "when there is limited consensus - when our actions come late and address only the lowest common denominator - the consequences can be measured in terrible loss of life, grave human suffering and tremendous loss of credibility for this council and our institution."

Also during Thursday's meeting, the Security Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution in which it pledged to take a more proactive approach to trying to prevent armed conflict in future.

Pillay is to be replaced as the UN's human rights chief by Jordanian Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein on September 1.

pfd/jr (AP, dpa, Reuters)