UN General Assembly
1996

With the telecommunications revolution and the fall of political, economic, demographic, cultural and security boundaries and barriers, States and their peoples need an effective machinery for consultation and constructive dialogue. The scientific and technological revolution has increased our need for a greater synergy to face the complex problems of our time and to bridge the gap between the countries and nations of the world so as to enable them to implement jointly subregional and interregional projects that none can do alone. The world population explosion and the concomitant ecological degradation have made the environment incapable of meeting rising demand. Competition for natural resources and for the protection of vital interests have risen sharply. The increased number and growing sophistication of lethal nuclear, chemical and bacteriological weapons of mass destruction and the further development of their intercontinental delivery systems heightens the threat of annihilation for many countries and peoples, especially when some of the countries which possess them lack even minimal credibility. Some societies are overwhelmed by the degree of sophistication of the media, by its role and by the speed