UN General Assembly
1995

political will, this new atmosphere should provide us, now and in the coming decades, with a unique opportunity to focus our attention on the solution of many problems, problems which pose serious threats to international peace and security and which hamper efforts to achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development. In some instances the international community has made good use of these changing circumstances and has found common approaches to problems affecting us all. Experience during the last few years, however, has revealed that our world is still characterized by unfairness and injustice, and that the gap between the developed countries and the majority of developing countries is widening. As a result the number of countries in crisis or in near crisis is increasing. Consequently, political instability, an increase in extreme poverty, social exclusion and social disintegration are on the rise in many developing countries, causing despair and endangering peace and security both nationally and internationally. The developing world has on many occasions underlined the need to pay particular attention to the elimination of the ever-widening gap between the