Page 158 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

In an effort to better perform the increasingly vital role that the UN is
being asked to assume in our interdependent world, and to build on
the Organization's strengths and address its weaknesses. Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali has issued three innovative reports.

The first, An Agenda for Peace, lists the range of peace operations the UN
undertakes throughout the world, which may be referred to as the ‘Four Ps":
preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peace-keeping, and peace-building. In the
recently issued Supplement to An Agenda for Peace, the Secretary-General
discusses lessons learned over the past two years concerning the implementa-
tion of UN peace-keeping and humanitarian activities, and highlights certain
areas in which there is a need for Member States to take ‘hard decisions”.

The second, New Dimensions of Arms Reputations and Disarmament in
the Post-Cold War Era, stresses that efforts in this field must be incorporated
into the broader search for peace, security, and stability.

The third, An Agenda for Development, acknowledges that
development plays a fundamental role in promoting peace, and economic
growth must not jeopardize the environment or infringe on social
protection of the people. Democracy provides the only reliable means by
which governments can attain these goals.

Taken as a whole, these three reports signal a marked change in the
way the United Nations and the international community think about
peace. No nation, however secure militarily or economically at the present
time, can consider itself immune from destabilizing conditions elsewhere in
the world. Peace promotion is no longer limited to the absence, prevention,
or cessation of armed conflict. It also requires multifaceted and coordinated
development efforts based on international cooperation. Peace, development
and democracy together form what we may call a “Triad of Survival”. To
survive and flourish requires all three legs of the Triad to be secure and well
grounded. The recent trend towards democratization is more than just a
fad; it is the way of the future. This trend should be seen not as a
denial of the past, but as an affirmation of achieving freedom, liberty
and social protection, which area versal aspirations. Democracy is the best
guarantee that these aspirations will be realized.

Towards these ends, the United Nations undertakes activities such as law-
making, norm-setting, and consensus-building. Convening international meet-

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