UN General Assembly
1992

first, the world sits idly by and barely notices the insulting words and the offensive speeches that are made. Then, even more inflammatory rhetoric is spouted, and eventually stones are hurled. Next, individuals are assaulted in the streets and their homes are invaded and vandalized. Before too long, conditions deteriorate irreparably. For some, that constitutes a point of no return. Ignorance, which breeds hatred, accelerates and races forward unchecked, building its own momentum with ever-increasing destructive force. Entire neighbourhoods or villages are placed under siege. The demagogues, by now totally intoxicated by the false power of the forces they have unleashed, will always try to claim to be defending the loftiest ideals. In fact, they are simply following their basest instincts. Vanuatu has long been disturbed by the hesitancy and reluctance of some members of the international community to address this very troublesome issue. In the past we have warned that failure to examine the causes of ethnic antagonisms or intercommunal conflicts, failure to devise peaceful ways to resolve them, could only lead to a situation in which, one day,