UN General Assembly
1966

89. Upon the initiative of the Soviet Union, the idea of general and complete disarmament as the sole guarantee of a world free from the fear of a thermonuclear holocaust entered into the debates of the past few sessions of the General Assembly. This idea has since occupied the minds of people all over the world. No doubt any small step in this direction taken by the United Nations represents considerable progress in the implementation of the Charter. At a time, however, when an escalation of aggression is in process and a devastating war is waged, conditions are not favourable for major steps in this regard. Nevertheless, there are, at the present time, good hopes for agreement, at least, on curbing the arms race in certain respects and preventing it from being extended to further dimensions. The possibility of agreement on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and on the peaceful uses of outer space is within reach. And this bids fair prospects for the work of the present session of the General Assembly and for the world as a whole.