Page 139 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

media - and not surprisingly therefore, the public - seem to equate the United
Nations with peace-keeping operations. There саn bе nо denying the increased
demands placed upon the UN and the proliferation of PKOs. (Whereas
between 1948 and 1987 there were 13 peace-keeping operations, over the next
four years, from 1988 to 1991, the Security Council established 10 new
missions, and another 12 have been authorized since the present Secretary-
General assumed office in 1992). Nevertheless, such activities still account for
less than one-third of all UN endeavours.

Perhaps what is of greater significance than the UN activities themselves,
are the conditions that both permit and cause them to bе undertaken in the
first place. I submit that the cessation of the Cold War between the United
States of America and the former Soviet Union is only the tip of the iceberg: for
а change in the civilizational paradigm is discernable. This change is
comprehensive. It encompasses not only inter­State relations, but also inter-
human relations.

As the Secretary-General has pointed out, two major forces are affecting
virtually every part of the world today. From below, fragmentation, disintegra-
tion and violence undermine the capacities of governance. From above, global
trends sweep the planet with little regard for political lines. Pollution, environ-
mental degradation, the spread of diseases and transnational migrations are
prime examples. Powerful international criminal groups engage in drug traffick-
ing, money-laundering, illegal trade in arms and nuclear materials and
smuggling of many precious metals and other commodities. Some criminal
"empires'' are richer than many States. Their ability to exploit open interna-
tional structures has outpaced traditional methods of law enforcement and
allowed them to escape the bound of national and international law.

The sovereign State - the building blосk of the United Nations - must find
ways of dealing with these changes not only in order to maintain its
sovereignty, but in order to survive and succeed as the central mechanism for
the progress of its people.

ТНЕ RESPONSE OF ТHЕ SECRETARY-GENERAL & ТНЕ ROLE OF
ТНЕ UNIТED NATIONS

These circumstances once again highlight the need to promote реасе
based on international law, as well as "...the creation of conditions of stability and
well-being".

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