UN General Assembly
1978

22. My friend and successor, Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka has devoted a great part of his career to this gigantic task. His dynamism, undoubtedly carried along by unshakeable conviction, has meant that that Conference has not sunk into oblivion and failure. He ought to be publicly thanked from this rostrum. 23. Generally speaking, the picture presented by today's world is not a pretty one, as we all know. Whether it be the problems of southern Africa, with the policy of apartheid, or the stagnation of the Cyprus negotiations, we see that time does not heal the wounds. On the contrary, the lack of progress towards mutually acceptable solutions only poisons relations between the parties so that a new armed conflict could break out at any time.