UN General Assembly
2000

conflicts developed in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe to take their place. The Security Council is now searching to adjust and redefine an effective strategy to deal with the new imperatives of peacekeeping and peace-building. This has meant seeking a delicate balance between respect for sovereignty and the urgent need for humanitarian intervention. In too many cases the resolution of conflict has remained elusive owing to political ambitions or to racial or ethnic intolerance. Furthermore, the brutality and violence of conflict have often taken their toll on innocent civilians and children, creating still more new challenges with an increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons. Humanitarian intervention in such cases is imperative. The effectiveness of peacekeeping missions is under scrutiny in the face of sharply escalating peacekeeping budgets. Rather than waiting until conflicts spiral out of control, we need to place more emphasis on conflict prevention. Jamaica therefore strongly supports the formulation of a comprehensive United Nations strategy to address the root causes of conflict. It is time that we acknowledged that economic