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34. The annexes to this Study show that a number of combined
factors get people on the move. Whether political or economic
in nature, exodus could be prevented or circumscribed only if
conditions were to be drastically different at the point of
departure. To change these conditions would however appear to be a task of such challenging magnitude as to defy the com- petence and capability of any individual organ of the inter- national community. It would require a global approach towards such problems as human rights, economic and social disparities, peace and security, food and population. Politics would have to take second place and governments might have to
accept a more flexible interpretation of national sovereignty.
Such conditions are not about to be established. We live
in an imperfect world.
35. For the purpose of this report, priority must be given to violations of human rights as an important cause of mass, as
opposed to individual, exodus. As explained earlier, particu-
lar attention has been given only to the relevant articles of
the Universal Declaration.
36. In all the situations taking place during the past decade, violations of the spirit, and frequently of the letter, of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Preamble must be
recognized. The rule of law, which is the only guarantee of just treatment of the individual, was simply non-existent in
many of the countries from which exodus took place. Local
conditions, a state of internal or external conflict, the
authority of dictatorial or despotic régimes and resulting
arbitrary rule by decree prevented individuals or groups from getting a fair hearing or seeking redress. Worse,