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The United Nations, in spite of the various initiatives undertaken in different countries, is far from being able to answer the needs that are manifested throughout the planet. The danger caused by some transgressions originating from the charter is undeniable, such as the right of veto of the main five Nations, the inequity in voting, the right of non intervention, etc... which effect the decisional powers and consequent follow up of the Organization and compromise possible positive results. (9:3) On one hand the Organization still reflects the system born from the outcome of a world war, while what we observe today is the crumbling of that system. On the other hand the fact that many emerging conflicts are not among Nations but involve non-state needs, such as ethnic groups or minorities or religious differences that make the activity of the United Nations more difficult. Apart from the United Nations and its agencies (UNICEF, FAO, ECOSOC etc... ), other institutions that operate in the Western world are still in search of a clear definition of their field of action and responsibilities regarding safety, coordination, economics and health care. This is the case of NATO, UEO (Western Europe Union) and UNA (African Nations Union), of PA (Andean Pact) MERCOSUR (South-Middle American Nations), of ASEAN (Far East Nations Union) of NAFT (United State, Canada, Mexico), of GATT, today's WTO (World Trade Organization) etc. Even the perspectives presented by CSCE (Conference on Safety and European Cooperation, with the participation of USA and Canada), at the time of its creation (1978), have not brought great results, particularly concerning respect of human rights, thought and religion. (9:4) The situation we are in now, then, is that of a confused assemblage of institutions, which even member Nations themselves can't rely on for concrete interventions. We should also not disregard the amazing accelerations with which events occur. The fact is that the US-USSR duopoly (that led the world's destinies for forty years), has not been replaced by an equally determined center of world power even if, doubtless, the United States has this potential. Yet the current conditions in the United States don't allow it to undertake the task of being the world's gendarme .In these conditions it is difficult to assume that the American President can work on the realization of a "New World Order". (9:5) The world has seen in the last ten years, a speed of change which finds no comparison with any period of time in the past. The war defending the people, autonomous democracy and autodetermination of Kuwait had already been a major shock for the planet's inhabitants. The pros and cons were clear to all, but no one would have ever thought that what was to follow in our society was far stronger in intensity. The situation has worsened: the war in Afghanistan, an increase in the number of terrorist acts in the entire world, the terribile attack to the New York Twin Towers, the war in Iraq, the heightened tension in Palestine, the amazing increase in suicide bombings, the tensions and conflicts in Africa bringing about the elimination of millions of people have perhaps made us think that God has grown tired of this humanity and that He may have put His interests elsewhere. The fact is that the inhabitants of this earthly globe, are far more scared than ever before. And if in the early 90s we could have thought that the situation would evolve towards a condition of peace, nowadays this has become more of a distant thought. The consequences are even worse than the events: human beings have perhaps lost their hope and have no longer any idea of what lies in front of them. On the one side pacifist movements are walking the streets asking for peace, probably creating other and new problems, on the other hand organizations concentrating on peace no longer know how to proceed. We have perhaps lost the sense of history.
(9:6)
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