UN General Assembly
1990

Any effective, collective action in the major areas that the Conference is expected to tackle - whether climate change or biodiversity and genetic heritage - entails envisaging new methods of funding, such as the introduction of some form of international taxation. In this light, the common management of shared resources, including those in extra-territorial spaces, and the destination of relevant benefits take on particular interest. So also do the proposals to ensure effective forums for continuing dialogue on a realistic basis and for circumventing the breakdowns which have occurred in so many key sectors vital to the development of a new world order - political, social, economic and environmental. Let me conclude by quoting from the statement made by Nr. Spaak of Belgium, the President of the first session of the General Assembly, in 1946. His wise advice as to the functions of a good representative to the Assembly are most relevant, particularly at this time when we are pinning all our hopes on the collective system embodied in the Charter of the United Nations