The United Nations general assembly and the Mediterranean

Abstract

It has been recognized that in our interdependent world it is often impossible for one State to achieve lasting security at the expense of the security of other States. This idea underlies the concept of common security, which places greater emphasis on non-military as opposed to military approaches. To achieve common security requires co-operative measures taken at the regional or global level. Mediterranean co-operation might seem an extremely ambitious objective owing inter-alia to the vastness of the geographic area in question, the diverse and complex nature of the problems arising in this semi-enclosed sea and the large number of countries involved, each with its own specific characteristics. Moreover, the repercussions of crises and conflicts that have broken out in the bordering regions such as the Iran/Iraq War, and the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, continue to have a lasting detrimental effect on the human dimension of the Mediterranean littoral.