Page 210 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

tional effect. For example, environmental degradation creates destabilizing
situations that have little respect for political boundaries. Other threats such as
intolerance and xenophobia can spread if not checked and confronted.

The task of the UN today is twofold: we must preserve the achievements
of the recent past; and we must prepare for the challenges and changes of the
new era ahead. The UN does not support the status quo. Rather, it endeavours
to channel desirable change in a non-violent and democratic manner and
minimize the deleterious effects that global changes often create. The
sovereign State - the building block of the United Nations - provides the best
assurance that individuals will be able to achieve universal aspirations such as
basic human freedoms, security, and prosperity.

With these aims in mind, the Secretary-General, at the behest and with the
support of the 185 Member States, has issued three major reports on peace,
disarmament and development that map out a coherent strategy for the way
the international community should address these objectives in the years to
come. The reports recognize that no nation, however secure militarily or eco-
nomically, 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. Democracy is the best
guarantee that peace and development will be realized. And in this context I am
pleased to tell you that the Secretary-General is preparing to issue another ma-
jor report entitled, An Agenda for Democratization.

The Future: Cooperation and Reform

The demands on the UN system have outpaced the ability of the UN to
meet the world's needs directly. The United Nations is thus learning how to
delegate responsibility more effectively. In the course of adapting to new
realities, the United Nations is developing and discovering new ways to work
together with regional organizations and civil society to solve common
problems, mitigate mutual mistrust, foster tolerance and the respect for human
rights, and promote peace and security.

The Secretary-General recognizes that regional organizations - which have
been responsible for many significant achievements in the field of arms
regulation and disarmament (such as the establishment of nuclear-weapon free
zones, for example) - must assume an even greater role in promoting the goals

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