UN General Assembly
1972

125. It is possible that in the world of today there exists a specific causal divisive element which makes possible this imbalance between moral progress and material progress in the world in which we live. We are referring specifically to the crisis in law. Thus we see that the more we progress towards the development of legal standards, enshrined in treaties and conventions, the weaker and more ineffective they become in the enforcement of those norms, thus ensuring the necessary maintenance of peace and reasonable coexistence. Take, for example, the failure to observe treaties setting forth a lofty humanistic vision of man, specifically in international conflicts, as has occurred in the case of the Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war, on inherent rights, on smuggling and the illicit traffic in drugs, international delinquency aggravated by the hijacking of aircraft and many other violations of the law.