'A foundation to build on ...'.

"A Foundation to Build On . . .'

WE face today a world of almost infinite promise which is also a world of potentially terminal danger. The choice between these alternatives is ours. The question is whether the Governments and peoples of the world are capable, without the spur of further disasters, of together making the right choice; for the choice and its implementation will, in many important ways, have to be collective. I believe that the United Nations and the way in which its members decide to use it is--and will be--an essential element in this historic choice. The question I shall consider in my annual report on this fortieth anniversary of our Organization is, therefore, not so much the future of the United Nations as the future of humanity and of our planet and the role of the United Nations in that future.

The world which confronts us would certainly surprise the statesmen who produced the Charter of the United Nations 40 years ago. In those 40 years vast and fundamental changes have occurred in the map of our world and our scientific understanding of it, in international relations, in the nature of war and in the way we live. We are all, in one way or another, engaged in a search for new landmarks, better systems and effective adjustments.

We are living in a time of flux and uncertainty. This situation becomes particularly clear when the world is suddenly faced with a desperate problem, be it a new conflict, a great humanitarian disaster or the temporary paralysis caused by a premediated act of violence.

There can be no question that, at the global level, between the poles of the massive and sophisticated nuclear weaponry of the major Powers and the desperation of the underprivileged or the dispossessed, there often lies a great vacuum of legitimacy and respected authority. Our most urgent challenge is to fill that vacuum through determined efforts to build a working international political system in which all participate--a system which will not only guarantee survival and order, but will make our planet run more evenly in the interests of all of its inhabitants.

It seems to me important to examine the concept of international authority, a concept which remains clusive in the present world. The only authority that existed in international affairs before the founding of the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations, was the actual power of the strongest States or Empires. It was mainly the abuse of this power which led to two world wars in this century. It was to replace this state of affairs that the United Nations was founded. The founding of the United Nations, President Roosevelt stated after the Crimean Conference, "spells--and it ought to spell--the end of the system of unilateral action, exclusive alliances, and spheres of influence, and balances of power, and all the other expedients which have been tried for centuries and have always failed'.

What has happened since falls far short of that vision. It is certainly true that the two would wars, and the immense changes of the past 40 years, have clearly shown that the world cannot return to its old ways and that the system set forth in the Charter is a logical answer to the question of the maintenance of international peace and security and the joint promotion of economic development and social progress in the actual circumstances of our time. But the fact is that we have so far failed to achieve the political conditions, and in particular the requisite relationships among the most powerful States, in which this noble concept can be made to function for the benefit of all.

An illustration of this issue is the current difficulty in addressing the problem of terrorism. Much of the public discussion of this problem seems to assume that there are no existing international conventions on the subject. I need only mention here the three conventions adopted under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, adopted by the General Assembly in 1979, as providing at least some legal framework for much more effective action in combating hijacking and hostage-taking. The difficulty that does arise is the incapacity, or the unwillingness, of Governments to implement these conventions in specific cases. Once again the essential political conditions, the sense of solidarity and mutual confidence, that could make international instruments work is largely lacking.

The best place where those conditions could be cultivated and a sense of international solidiarity developed is the United Nations. Indeed, that was one of the main original purposes of the Organization. Only when the minimum positive conditions exist in the relations between States will the concept of international authority begin to assume its rightful place in human affairs.

The United Nations cannot--and was not intended to--solve all the problems of the international community, but it is the best place to avoid the worst and to strive for improvement. And it has made a good start-- far better, in fact, than is often recognized. Let me briefly substantiate this assertion.

After 40 years we have, for the first time in history, a virtually universal world Organization. We have, also for the first time in history, a world of independent sovereign States. Although there have been all too many conflicts since 1945, we have so far escaped a third world war and have perhaps learned more than we realize about techniques and expedients for avoiding such a terminal disaster. We have achieved unprecedented economic growth and social progress, in which developing countries have shared, although not yet in sufficient measure. We are making collective efforts to respond to the new generation of global problems which mostly stem from the need to protect the planet and its resources while providing for all of its people. There is a greater international responsiveness to humanitarian challenges wherever they occur. The protection of human rights, for all the violations that still persist, is becoming a world-wide concern. More international law affecting virtually all areas of human activity has been codified in the past 40 years than in all the previous years of recorded history. Much of it has been done under the auspices of the General Assembly.

The world is still, admittedly, a very imperfect, insecure, unjust, dangerous and, in all too many regions, impoverished place, but in the achievements I have mentioned above--and in many others--we have a foundation to build on. It is mainly up to Governments to decide if they wish to cooperate in building on this foundation a useful, coherent, effective institution, or whether they choose the alternative that may sometimes seem easier in the short run, each taking their own short-sighted and self-interested course. In that case, the promising foundations, established with so much though and hard work, will end up surmounted by a rambling, contentious slum, the breeding ground of endless new troubles and disasters. Surely the first alternative is the one which must be chosen.