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100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

work for disarmament. Indirect guarantees are intended to prevent recurrence
of violence among States and people. That is why they are aimed at creation of
stable social and economic conditions in countries and regions as well as the
democratization of international relations.

9. If we look at the guarantees from the point of view of their influence on
international political processes, we can differentiate between material
guarantees, which deal with the physical reduction of military hardware, and
those which have a psychological impact changing the international political
climate. Of course, the difference between them is relative. Any action resulting
in the reduction of armament stockpiles has a positive effect on the political
mentality. On the other hand, trust and cooperation between States is the
major prerequisite of practical disarmament. Today, the new enriched concept
of confidence-building measures is in the process of development. In addition
to military transparency, this includes a wide variety of measures to promote
people-to-people contact.

10. From the point of view of the sphere of application, guarantees could
be divided into political and legal. As examples of political guarantees, I would
like to refer to the commitments or intentions of States reflected in
international political documents, such as the Helsinki Final Act or the Paris
Charter of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. The
resolutions of the UN General Assembly, which are not obligatory, also belong
to this sort of guarantee. Legal guarantees are the obligations of States under
international treaties and agreements, as well as the decisions of international
bodies such as the UN Security Council. Political and legal guarantees support
and reinforce each other. Political guarantees, which can also take the form of
unilateral actions of States, pave the way for the development of international
law. Legal guarantees mark the level already achieved by the international
community, thus providing the possibility for States to undertake further
actions.

11. As we can see, the notion of security is a complex one, covering a wide
range of phenomena not previously associated with it. The same can be said of
the second notion on our list: multilateralism.

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12. The emerging new world order is sometimes called Pax Multilateralis
or Pax UN - a system built on the solid foundations of international law, the

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