UN General Assembly
2013

situations of conflict, with dozens of armed groups that sow death and suffering throughout the population. In that regard, I would particularly like to refer to the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Central African Republic. The Middle East continues to be a subject of great concern, and in some countries of the American continent drug trafficking has reached the level where traffickers can wage war against States. There are also significant hotbeds of tension in many regions of Asia. In many of those conflicts, there have been or are still United Nations peacekeeping operations working in coordination with regional organizations. In that regard, a tradition of great merit has been established, which dates back to the origins of the Organization itself. However, history has also shown that, when the necessary means are insufficient or the prevailing national and international interests weigh too heavily, United Nations intervention cannot be realized or, if it is undertaken, has only limited success. Despite those difficulties, the whole experience