Sir David Hannay, Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, admitted that “the United Nations has been, up to the 1980s, fairly close to being an honorable failure.”

[Box on page 4]

FRUSTRATED EFFORTS

Peace and security cannot exist as long as there are war, poverty, crime, and corruption. The United Nations recently released the following statistics.

Wars: “Of the 82 armed conflicts between 1989 and 1992, 79 were domestic, many along ethnic lines; 90 per cent of casualties were civilian.”​—United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI)

Weapons: “The ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] estimates more than 95 manufacturers in 48 countries are producing between 5 and 10 million anti-personnel mines each year.”​—United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

“In Africa, there are about 30 million mines scattered over 18 countries.”​—UNHCR

Poverty: “Worldwide, one out of every five people​—more than one billion in all—​live below the poverty line, and an estimated 13 million to 18 million die annually of poverty-related causes.”​—UNDPI

Crime: “Reported crime has grown at a world-wide average of 5 per cent each year since the 1980s; in the USA alone, there are 35 million crimes committed annually.”​—UNDPI

Corruption: “Public corruption is becoming commonplace. In some countries financial frauds are estimated to cost the equivalent of 10 per cent of the country’s annual gross domestic product.”​—UNDPI