UN General Assembly
1994

under control. That is not the case. Transformation does not have a fixed, inexorable course. We must not allow ourselves to be enticed by hasty interpretations or by mere appearances. It is our responsibility to give meaning to change and to guide trends in accordance with the greater interests of the world community. 1 It will be five years next November since the Berlin Wall crumbled. That period is sufficient for evaluating the distances that have been covered and, above all, for charting a course that will lead us to a safe harbour. The cold war took place under the sign of denial, a situation reflected even in the language that marked the period. The expressions that identified and explained almost 40 years of tense relationships denoted confrontation, exclusion or, at best, uncomfortable coexistence of opposites. The catchphrases of the day were "iron curtain", "containment" and "balance of terror". Today we are in the midst of transition. Taking stock of these last few years, we can say that the results, though tenuous and imperfect, are positive. The cause of peace