Europe is no longer divided. In South Africa, the shame of apartheid has given way to the pride of multiracial democracy. And in the Middle East, great strides toward a comprehensive and lasting peace have been made. But while some parts of our world are coming together, others are falling apart. In Rwanda and Bosnia, we have seen human savagery on a scale matched only rarely in this century.
Factional violence threatens to engulf whole regions of Africa and the former Soviet Union.
There are more refugees now than at any time in history. Some suggest that we simply turn our backs and hope these problems go away. Given the tough problems we face at home, it is tempting to accept that prescription. But although the world has changed, American principles have not. Successive American administrations have understood that U.S. participation in the United Nations serves to advance America's interests and to promote the cause of world peace.