UN General Assembly
1982

Asia, Afghani-stan, Central America, Western Sahara and the Horn of Africa stand unresolved. All these remain ques-tions of legitimate concern to the international com¬munity, yet the United Nations has been ignored or pushed aside. Its potential for crisis management and peaceful settlement of disputes has been neglected. 250. The United Nations has not been listened to; there has been scant willingness to use its services. At worst, the authority of the United Nations has been flouted. The abuse of the United Nations for short- term interests has overshadowed its ultimate im¬portance to all Member States as the only universal Organization for finding peaceful and negotiated solu¬tions to global problems. 251. In his report the Secretary-General has proposed concrete measures to halt the erosion of the authority of the United Nations and to restore its capacity to act. The Secretary-General proposes, as a first step, that Governments consciously recommit themselves to the Charter. He proposes that the Security Council keep an active watch on dangerous situations and, if necessary, initiate discussions with the parties before they reach a