Greed blamed for world’s woes

As many try to put their troubles to one side to celebrate Christmas, the United Nations is drawing attention to the man-made problems blighting the world.

In his New Year greeting, UN Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann said prosperous countries were responsible for many of the troubles faced by poorer communities.

“All the most serious problems that are right now a source of so much pain to so many people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Oceania are man-made problems,” he said. “And for the most part, caused by those countries that are most developed in terms of material wealth.”

According to Brockmann, the greed and recklessness of rich nations endangered the continuity of the human race itself.

“The ravages of climate change are also a consequence of the greed of the powerful that for decades have turned a deaf ear on warnings about the damage that their development model was causing the environment,” he said.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The UN official insisted that the world could be a much better place.

“May we never forget that another world is indeed possible. A world without war, without criminal embargos, without hunger, without extreme poverty, without Guantanamos, without nuclear weapons, without imperial dreams or attitudes, without insane and suicidal selfishness,” he said.