text: immediately involved. Buttheramifications ofarmscontrol arrangements, orlack ofsuch arr~ngements, flowbeyondtheborders andresponsibilities ofthose immediatly involved. Isthereacasefortheproposal bymycolleague fromBurkina Pasoforthesecurity Council, theworld's paramount peace-keeping organization, to meetespecially todiscuss peaceanddisarmament inthecontext ofworldeconomic andsocialdevelopment? ShouldtheCouncil bereformed toreflect moreaccurately theworld GSitistoday? TheUnitedNations anditsinstitutions havecontributed topeaceandprogress onascaleandinwaysthatalmostdefyvaluation. Couldit doevenbetterwithout structures whichmaybefound,aftercareful evaluation, to beperhaps imperfect oroutdated?AW/ljb A/40/PV.l7 29-30 (Mr.Hayden, Australia) Thesequestions., ofcourse, havebeenheardbefore. Theyareheardmoreoften astheUnitedNations advances into.respectable maturity. Theywereraisedatthe securityCouncillastweek,whereadegreeofconsensus evolved infavourofthe needforgreater commitment andefficiency. Australia raisesthemhereinan attempt togettheissuesthattheyraiseexamined ~hileweareofamindto reflect onourachievements andourfailures. Weraisethesequestions inaspirit ofactiveandprofound loyalty totheUnitedNations anditsideals. Australia isoneofthefounding andoriginal Members oftheUnitedNations. WeareamemberoftheSecurity Council. Wehaveprovided moral,physical and financial supportforavastrangeofUnitedNationsactivities: fromcontrol over narcotics, keeping thepeace, impr~~ing thestatusofwomenandthehealthof children tothesurvival ofrefugees. Inalltheseactivities, theAustralian Government hashadthebenefit ofthegreatgoodwill oftheAustralian people. We appreciate thecomplications ofthesystem. Weunderstand thedrawbacks ofthe political process. Weknowthatnations cannotbeexpected toignoregenuine national interests. Butwealsorealize thattheUnitedNations willgetnowhere ifwearenotalsofuelled bytheidealism whichcreated suchconcepts astheWorld HealthOrganization (WHO),theUnitedNations Educational, Scientific andCultural organization (UNKSCO), theUnitedNations HighCommissioner forRefugees (UNHCR), theUnitedNations Development Programme andtheConference onDisarmament. We shouldtherefore takeourfortieth anniversary asanopportunity torenewthis idealism, committed toensuring thattheoperations andstructure oftheUnited Nations arenotvehicles forourownshortcomings orambitions, butarerelevant to aworldwhosecomplexity andneedscouldnothavebeenevenimagined 40yearsago.JP/mh A/40/PV.17 31 Mr.MAHABIR (Trinidad andTobago): Itisapleasure forme,onbehalfof theGovernment andpeopleofthe~epublic ofTrinidad andTobago, toofferour congratulations tothePresident onhiselection topreside overtheGeneral Assembly duringthisfortieth session ofourOrganization. Hislongassociation withtheUnitedNations asarepresentative ofSpain,andhisvastexperience in international affairs will,Iamconfident, ensurethatthiscommemorative session contributes substantially towards theattainment ofthegoals,enshrined inour Charter, ofworldpeace,justice andeconomic andsocialprogress. Igladlyavail myselfofthisopportunity alsotopayadeserved tribute toMr.PaulLusakaof zambia, whopresided socapably overtheworkoftheGeneral Assembly atits thirty-ninth session. OnbehalfoftheGovernment andpeopleofTrinidad andTobago, Iconveytothe Government andpeopleofMexicoourheartfelt sympathy overtheentensive destruction andlossofliferesulting fromtherecentearthquakes. Itisasobering commentary onthestatusofmanycountries 40yearsago,and ontheenormous changes thathavesincetakenplace,thatofthe159Members ofour Organization morethanhalfwerenotindependent whentheUnitedNations Charter wassignedinSanFrancisco in1945.Indeed, nearlyaquarter oftheMemberStates represented heretoday, myownincluded, gainedtheirindependence aslateasthe decadeofthe19605,whichsawanacceleration oftheprocess ofthedissolution of theworld-wide systemofcolonialism. Thusdotheresolve ofpeopleandthe passage oftimebringaboutchanges whichreshape thecourseofhistory. Everyanniversary provides anopportunity, ifnotforrejoicing, atleastfor reflection, andaswereflect upontheeventsofthe40yearssincethe inauguration ofourAssembly, itmaybeusefultoexamine thatperiodintermsof whatithasmeanttous,MemberStatesoftheOrganization.JP/mh A/40/PV.l7 32 (Mr.Mahabir, Trinidad andTobago) Indoingsowemayconsider theperiodfromseveral standpoints: ashaving beenoneof40yearsofstrengthening theOrganization; of40yearsoftryingto resolveconflicts; of40yearsofsearching foragreement ondisarmament; of
analysis: The text appears to be a speech by a representative of Australia to the United Nations General Assembly, commemorating the organization's 40th anniversary. The speech touches on various aspects of the United Nations' work, including peacekeeping, disarmament, and development. The speaker highlights the organization's achievements and challenges, and expresses a commitment to its ideals and goals. While the text does not focus on a specific sector or issue, it does emphasize the importance of international cooperation and the need for reform.