text: ers have done, I salute the President for his and his coun- try’s persistently constructive role here in the United Nations and in their dealing with the world’s problems. 298. Forty years ago, the Organization and the Charter of the United Nations embodied mankind’s most cher- ished hopes for a better world-a world where intema- tional disputes could be settled peacefully, where self-determination would be advanced, where economic co-operation would promote prosperity and where human rights would be honoured. For four decades this grand vision has inspired millions across the globe. Today each of us, and especially members of the Security Council, has a duty to his own people and to posterity to keep that vision alive. 299. But none of us here harbours any illusions about our world or about the United Nations. International con- flicts, aggression and violence still mar the global land- scape, still bring suffering to millions, still threaten world peace. Hunger and disease still claim victims among the poor and needy. Freedom, and the most basic human rights, still lie trampled beneath the tyrant’s boot in many parts of the world. The United Nations today is a troubled organization. But that is, in part, because it mirrors a troubled world. 27 300. For some, the evils prevalent. in our world are evi- dence that the United Nations has failed, that its founders were little more than utopian dreamers, and that this ideal- istic venture of ours has broken apart in the rocky waters of reality. I disagree, The founders of the United Nations were not foolish idealists. They were statesmen, perhaps the greatest statesmen of this century. For them, the United Nations was no panacea for the world’s ills. They knew that pursuing the ideals of the Charter in a world of 
analysis: The text primarily focuses on the role of the United Nations in promoting international peace, security, and human rights. It acknowledges the challenges and conflicts that still exist in the world, but emphasizes the importance of pursuing the ideals of the Charter and the duty of member states to keep the vision of a better world alive.