UN General Assembly
1976

94. This Organization, the United Nations, came into being with the triple purpose of saving "succeeding generations from the scourge of war", reaffirming "faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person" and promoting "social progress and better standards of life". In substance, our common undertaking consists of defining new and more satisfactory margins of security, a security which will cease to bear the imprint of the alternatives in the distribution of balances and influences and will be based on the needs of mankind and on respect for his freedom and aspirations. In this fundamental task the Organization should have a double role. On the one hand, it should contribute to the standardization of rules of conduct which are generally accepted in the international community and adjust those rules to the needs of a pluralistic, changing, moving world. On the other hand, it should facilitate the collective legitimization of the expectations and aspirations of mankind at the cross-roads.