UN General Assembly
1971

211. Owing to the deep points of difference between the great Powers, without whose agreement no progress would be possible in this particular case, the Special Committee on Peace-keeping Operations has witnessed an impasse since 1969. Differences over the establishment of observer missions, their direction and control and the relevant, legal and financial arrangements have not been resolved. Over the past two years it has not been possible to reach agreement on the respective roles of the Security Council and the General Assembly on the important question of authorization of missions and, therefore, no work could be done on the definition and task of peace-keeping operations involving military contingents. The present state of affairs is clearly frustrating. We believe in the usefulness of the United Nations peace-keeping role in appropriate circumstances and we hope that renewed efforts will be made during the current session to break the impasse.