UN General Assembly
1991

With the danger of ideological conflict having receded in some parts of the world, there has been a tragic reversion to an older and more frightening type of conflict. On more than one occasion, the world has been warned of the dangers of inter-communal conflict and ethnic strife. For far too long those words of warning fell on deaf ears. Some insisted that this issue was strictly an internal affair of various countries. Others insisted that this was too sensitive an issue to discuss at international forums. While fully respecting national sovereignty and recognising the domestic dimensions of inter-communal conflict and ethnic strife, we often wondered what it would take to make some members of the international community aware of the serious threat posed to all nations by such conflict and strife. Unfortunately, we now have the answer.