The 38th floor.

Excerpts from statements by UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar made between 1 April and 30 June 1991

The heart and core of international law is the precept that nation-states must learn to live in peace with one another according to established rules if the human community is to lead an orderly existence. The present-day world of growing interdependence has given new meaning to this precept and vastly amplified its scope.

The code of conduct that international law prescribes should not be regarded as simply a system of prohibitions and restraints. On the contrary, it is positive and functional, furnishing a basic tool of progress and co-operation. . . .

We can thus see the emergence of some of the basic requirements for international law to become more effective in governing international relations. First, it must not stagnate but must keep pace with change in the conditions of international life. Second, it must evoke a shared understanding and it must be seen to derive from the morality of international behaviour. Third, it must not be applied selectively.

At the University of Bordaux

France, 22 April

A time of hope ...

We are at a time which offers us, suddenly and remarkably, the hope and opportunity of great progress towards the kind of world the Charter describes. We must seize the moment before the forces and energy released by old rigidities can harden into new ones.

Concluding the White House visit,

Washington, D.C, 9 May

To benefit all ...

The environment, in all its beauty and complexity, is a global resource that must be managed effectively for the benefit of all peoples, present and future. . . . I therefore attach great importance to the ongoing negotiation of a framework convention on climate change, and look forward to wide agreement on an effective international instrument in time for the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

In observance of World Environment Day,

New York, 5 June

A unique compact ...

Later this year the General Assembly will be carrying out a review of the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. When it was adopted in 1986, the Programme raised great expectations since it was the first time that the African countries themselves had developed a comprehensive programme of priorities for the economic development and progress of the continent as a part of a unique compact between Africa and the international community to support these efforts. This will be a timely opportunity for the African countries to review their own efforts as well as their priorities and, in a more focused manner, the nature and quality of international support that would be required to help achieve their objectives. It is important that the new arrangements that we agreed upon later this year provide for sustained economic growth and development,, for the countries of Africa.

At the Assembly of Heads of State and-government

of the Organization of African Unity,

Abuja, Nigeria, 3 June

North-West-South relations ...

The success of high-precision military technology in the recent conflict will no doubt arouse the interest of many countries. The military applications of science and technology have attracted the attention of the United Nations in the past two years. It is essential to find a way of restricting the transfer of advanced technology for military purposes and protecting the legitimate interests of developing countries that wish to expand their scientific and technological base. This is a central aspect of the balance in North-South relations-which no doubt should from now on be renamed NorthWest-South relations, taking Europe as the centre.

Before the European Parliament,

Strasbourg France, 17 April

Shared dangers ...

The nuclear accident at Chernobyl is without precedent in history. Its insidious effects have not been limited to one spot, one area or one country; its contamination has travelled over thousands of miles, crossing national borders and reaching remote corners of the planet. Although five years have elapsed since the catastrophe occurred, it has not yet been possible to assess the full nature and extent of its harmful effects.

And yet, by the very nature of its global impact, the accident also has a significant and educative effect. It has helped to bring' us closer together by raising our consciousness of our shared dangers. It has aroused feelings in all of us of deep concern, solidarity and compassion; it has helped to break through barriers between East and West and North and South; it has taught us that we must learn from each other's experience if we want to survive.

Commemorating theft th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident,

New York, 26 April

To unmask oppression ...

We must recognize that there is a palpable change in the attitude of the world's peoples towards the belief that abuse and oppression can no longer be shielded from international scrutiny because of claims of national sovereignty. This shift in international standards requires the attention of Governments, as well as academic and professional groups, in order to bring international law more into line with an evolving morality that increasingly decries the massive and deliberate violation of human rights.

To the Forum for Security Policy at Saint Gallen University,

Switzerland, 15 June