UNITED NATIONS, June 7: Saying that “selfishness had brought the world to the “terrible quagmire” into which it was sinking irreversibly, the president-elect for the sixty-third session of United Nations General Assembly asserted that “everybody must change their ways and accept the only truth that was absolutely indispensable — all humans were meant to be sisters and brothers.

”Unless people changed their behaviour and began to act according to that universal truth, there could be no salvation for the world”, said president-elect Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua at a press conference.

He reiterated that in order to come out of the quagmire in which the world found itself, people must become less selfish and make the transition from the logic of “I and mine” to that of “we and ours”.

He said under his presidency of the sixty-third session, the General Assembly would focus on addressing the universal clamour for the democratisation of the United Nations.

Mr D’Escoto said he planned to give full support to the Working Group on the Revitalisation of the General Assembly adding that he intended to place even greater emphasis on that effort than had the last 15 presidents, particularly the last 5, who had been deeply involved.

The presidency would also focus on other matters causing anguish in the world today, particularly the traumatic experiences resulting from the sudden increase in food and energy prices.

He said that achieving those and other ambitious goals he had set himself would need a great amount of unity among all member states, as well as love in the world at large. The president-elect said a detailed work plan for the sixty-third session would become available on September 16, after the transition period.

Responding to a question, he said some people described the United Nations as the longest-lasting dictatorship. It was good to talk about democracy, but even better to practise it, and a concerted search was necessary in order to find ways to revitalise and democratise the organisation, including the Security Council.