and her own country was now having a judicial inquiry into the state of its prisons and was currently subject to a visit by the European Committee on Torture. 18. The present discussion had brought home the grim legacy of imperialism throughout the world and the problems left by artificial borders -although to seek now to alter State boundaries would be tantamount to triggering an earthquake and would undermine the fragile existing stability. That, together E/CN.4/Sub.2/1990/SR.20 page 6 with economic underdevelopment, South to North transfer of resources, debt burdens, inadequate technology transfer and ideological and weapons export from North to South, produced a devil's brew. 19. However bad matters might be, attempts, even with good will and the best of intentions, to settle matters internally by force, without acknowledging the rights of individuals and their group interests, made matters far worse, as, for example, in the Sudan, certain Central American States, Myanmar, Iraq and Turkey in relation to their Kurdish populations, and the Islamic Republic of Iran in relation to those whose political, secular and religious views differed from those enjoying governmental power. A point had been reached when even conciliatory intentions adopted at a late stage in a conflict could not repair inter-community bridges, as now tragically seemed to be the case in Sri Lanka, and might, as in the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran, lead to persecution of opponents becoming a way of life. 20. External intervention only intensified conflicts, even if it claimed to be humanitarian or was requested by a Government, or was intended to restore order or to stop alleged cross-border aggression. When foreign weapons and advisers were imported, whether to further the self-interest of the arms trade or to have cost-cutting exercises for the military armaments complexes of 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the complex and interconnected issues of imperialism, artificial borders, economic underdevelopment, and the impact of external intervention on conflicts, highlighting the difficulties in resolving these issues through force or late-stage conciliatory efforts. The text emphasizes the importance of acknowledging individual and group rights to address the root causes of conflicts. While some issues related to natural resources and environment are mentioned, they are not the primary focus of the text.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, International relations