Rwanda. One of the Order's relief vehicles with a group of Rwandese children collected and assisted during the mass exodus. The children are wearing clothes provided by the Order's national and international organisations, which have also sent medicines, food and other basic necessities.

However the Order, because of its humanitarian presence world-wide, managed to collect a large number of favourable votes; the draft resolution was submitted to the Assembly by a good 73 cosignatories, including not only the countries traditionally linked to the Order but also some distant ones with whom we do not yet have co-operation relations and whose support was therefore prompted solely by the Order's moral prestige. We are grateful to all the United Nations' members who have supported us in this circumstance; in particular, our thanks go to the friendly government of Italy, promoter and main supporter of the initiative, and to the Secretary General of the United Nations, who has personally helped to make the operation successful.

Our Order now sits, as "Sovereign and Military Order of Malta", on the Observer's bench in all the bodies of the United Nations, alongside the Holy See and Switzerland (non-member States) and international organisations such as the European Union.

We therefore represent those characteristics of "sui generis sovereignty", attributed to us by juridical doctrine, making the Order a peculiar member of the international community. The positive consequences of this achievement will become increasingly evident with time.

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