UN General Assembly
1988

There has often been discussion of a clash between North and South, because poverty and wretchedness know no borders, nor do they disappear merely because of logic or debate. And what would it be like, a world one half of which enjoyed the benefits of security while the other half continued to struggle with countless economic difficulties? Conversely, so long as international security is not secured, the efforts and resources that could be devoted to development will be diverted to other goals; politics will prevail over economics, and the rivalry of the great Powers will continue to have repercussions on choices of nodes of development. Ideally, on both fronts - security and development - initiatives should be taken concurrently and simultaneously. Gut the realities are otherwise. The struggle against underdevelopment is momentarily being left aside and we are being led to believe that the North must organize itself and ensure its security before the South can benefit.