UN General Assembly
1999

gross domestic product, 82 per cent of exports of goods and services and 68 per cent of foreign direct investment. If there is any demonstration of the inequality that exists and how most human beings have been marginalized as we approach the end of the twentieth century, the following is a striking example: the assets of the three richest people are more than the combined gross national product of all of the least developed countries; the assets of the 200 richest people are more than the combined income of 41 per cent of the world's people; and a yearly contribution of 1 per cent of the wealth of the 200 richest people could provide universal access to primary education for all. There is an even darker side to the picture. As we span the far reaches of history, and especially in this century, we see that very often the individual in society has been the victim of political and economic forces beyond his control. He has suffered the horrendous consequences of ethnic, cultural and religious intolerance. It is the individual