UN General Assembly
1987

Thus, year after year, speaker after speaker walks to this rostrum, stands before the nations of the world and states the case for independence for Namibia, an end to apartheid in South Africa and common decency and justice foe the Palestinians. Speaker after speaker pleads for justice and peace for the people of Central America and South-East Asia. Speaker after speaker calls for an end to the arms race and the recurring nuclear nightmares of small children everywhere. Were these words to be listened to, and heeded, they would be almost magical in what they could achieve. Words are like magic. They can transport one to another time, another place, or another dimension. They can express the full range of human experiences and emotions, from charity to greed, from forgiveness to indignation, from humility to arrogance, from hope to despair, from love to hatred. Words can be instruments of enlightenment or revelations of ignorance. Words can stir, inspire and move listeners to action or lull them into indifference, boredom and inactivity.