UN General Assembly
2002

of all. Efforts to combat endemic diseases have fallen short. Countries around the world suffer from the spread of HIV/AIDS, which threatens their stability; owing to their lack of capacity and resources they are unable to contain the pandemic, thus necessitating assistance for those countries in dealing with the crisis. The world also confronts numerous environmental challenges such as those related to biodiversity, climate change, drought and desertification, all of which require the redoubling of international efforts to address them in order to safeguard the right of future generations to a secure life. Scarcity of water threatens the eruption of conflicts in several regions of the world. The international community must therefore maximize the benefit from, and the proper management of, available water resources while respecting and protecting the acquired rights of States and the international agreements that govern the rights to utilize those resources. The sheer size, complexity and scope of all these problems may lead some to yield to pessimism and frustration, but we are confident that the forces of good