Today we are faced with the same choice. While no great power views any other as an immediate military threat, the demands upon us have not lessened. One of the major developments of the post-Cold War period has been the threat to peace and security from new global challenges, including crime, terrorism and drugs. These threats are no less serious to many countries than those faced in 1945. While faster communications and new technologies have brought us closer together, they have also made it easier for drug dealers and international criminals to poison our young and hide their profits.
Drugs ruin countless lives.
The stability of new and fragile countries is particularly vulnerable to the drug trade and the organised criminal groups behind it. These new issues, which were unforeseen when the U.N. Charter was created, pose some of the most important new security challenges for the global community. And we must provide the same leadership and commitment to combating these, as we did for the receding problems. 1998 was a tremendous year in the field of international drug control. Governments, around the world, became truly united on the issue.