text: chancetouorkasintended. Theywerealmostimmediately fro.enbythechillef thecoldwar.But:Justasthesecurity mechanisms oftheUs:.ltsdRations vereearly casualties ofthecoldwar,sotheyhavealready provedtobeoneofthefirst beneficiaries ofthethaw.Aftermanyyearsinwhichpolitical divisions amongthe permanent members weakened theforceofSecurity Council resolutions, thenewunity ofpurpose which'Vesett,andwhichvssawagainyesterday" hasgiventheCouncil Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld LibraryJSJVPLJ AI"5/PV.8 "2 (Mr.Bur'"UnitedKingdom).i unprecedented vigour. Iwo!:'!:edhereforfouryearsasajuniormemberofmy country's dele9ation inthe1950sandspentmanyhoursinthisRaIl,someofthem wearyhours,someofthemhourswhich,atthetime,Imustconfess Ithought ~re fairlypointless. Ineverexpected toseesuchahealthy changeinthisbuilding asaresultofthedevelopments ofthelastyear. AndIamnotthinking onlyoftheSecurity Council resolutions overKuwait, although forthereasons Ihavegiven,theyarecrucial. Thereareother examples. InNamibia, whichundertheauspices oftheUnitedNations wasablelast yeartoachieve peaceful independence andfreeelections. InCambodia, thefive permanent members haveco-operated closely. Discussions weretoughattimes. They willbeonsuchoccasions, butagreement wasreachedattheendofAugustona framework foracomprehensive political settlement. Andon9and10Septe~er the ICambodian parties themselves endorsed thisframework. Iamwellawarethatagreat d.alofhardworkandargument remainontheCambodian question, butthereisnowa hope,aflickering hope,whereODcedespair seemedtotal. TheSecretary-Generales mission ofgoodofficesinCypruscontinues, anditcontinues withourfull support. Itseemstousvitalthatalltheparties shouldhelphimtoreacha finalsettlement forthatisland. TheUnitedNations musttacklethemassive humanproblems whichnationStates andevenregional groupscannothandleeffectivaly bythemllelvelll~ Thereilllthe menaceofdrugs,whereth'sit~ation goesupanddown,butODbalance Ibelieve continues todeteriorate. TheworkoftheUnitedNations drugsunitshasbeen increasing tomeetthosedemands, butmoreresources arerequired. Reformofthe UnitedNations drugabusecontrolstructure isessential. Webelieve thethree existing drugsunitsshouldbeunified intoonestreamlined structure underone seniorfull-time head,andIhopethatatthissession theGeneral Assembly willbe abl~to takeadecision alongthoselines. Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld LibraryJSMlPLJ Al45/PV.8 43 (Hr.Rurd.UnitedKingdom) Thentherearethehugelyvariedproblems ofourenviroDmlnt, theosonelayer, globalwarming, andmanyothers. Theseareproblems whichhavetobetackled, and quickly. Buttheycanbetackled onlyiftheworldcolllftunity actstoqother, and undoubtedly theUnitedNations anditsagenciea offertheheatwayofpooling these efforts. Wemake,andwillcontinue tomake,aserious contribution. Itwas yesterday inLondonthatmyGovernment published aWhitePaperoutlining environmental policies forthe19908,inclUding thepledgetopegCO2emissions by2005at1990levels. Wemustnotforget, becauDe oftheserelatively newproblems, thebattle against poverty. Britain hasannounced inthelastweekimportant newproposcls on debtreliefforthepoorest countries, building ODtheearlierBritishinitiative whichledtotheagreement ofthe"Toronto terms"in1988. Wehaveproposed that theParisClubshouldimproveitsexisting concessions bycancelling twothirdsof acountry's entirebilateral official debt.Repayment oftheremainder wouldbe tailored tomatcheachcountry's improving debtservice capacity over25years. To provide additional breathing space,therewouldbenopayments duringthefirst fiveyearsofthisperiod. Theconditions forqualifying forthisreliefwould remainbroadly thesameasfortheToronto scheme. Butitseemstomethat,whenalltheseotherproblems areconsidered andour energies devoted tothem,itremainstruethatwarisstillthechiefscourgeof mankind, andfollowing inthewakeofwar,thetragedies offamineandof refugees. Becausethatisso,peace-making andpeace-keeping willstayatthe heartofworthwhile international activity. Theyarethecoreofourworkhere.I hopethattheUnitadNations benefits willbeextended toallthepeopleinthe worldwhoseekmembership, andhereIamthinking inparticular ofthepeopleof Korea. Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld LibraryJSM!PLJ Al4S/PV.8 44-45 (Mr.Hurd,UnitedKingdom).....1 Ihavetriedbriefly tosketchsomeofourownapproaches endattitudes to thesetasksinBritain. Wetrytobringpractical realism tothetaskswhichI haveoutlined this morni~g. Weknowthatpastachievement doesnotguarantee futureprogress. Itisfartoosoontositbackandrelaxtothesoundofourown self-congratulation. Thereisahugeamounttohedone,andallofitis complicated, andmuchofitisdaunting. ButIammorehopeful thanbeforethat theinternational community, thr~ugh theUnitedNations, isequaltothetasks. Firet,asIhavesaidandforthereasons Ihavegiven,thenewordermusteucceed
analysis: The text appears to be a speech or statement by the British Foreign Secretary, discussing various international issues and the role of the United Nations in addressing them. The topics range from security and conflict resolution to environmental concerns, poverty, and humanitarian aid. The speech highlights the importance of international cooperation and the efforts of the United Nations in promoting peace, stability, and development.