UN General Assembly
1960

14. The fifteen years of the life of the United Nations have witnessed a greater split between East and West, and the gathering of power into two contending and hostile blocs, negotiating from positions of strength. However true the picture of the division of power in the world at the present time, the fact remains that the development of the two blocs has not reached the point of collision, as there still exists space separating them, which could be occupied by other Powers. The time has come for the non-committed nations, and others which have recently attained independence, to hasten to occupy this space and to bridge the gap which separates East and West. We have in mind those States which follow the policy of positive neutrality and other nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America. As the Secretary-General states in the Introduction to his Annual Report: "Who can deny that today the countries of Asia or the countries of Africa, acting in a common spirit, represent powerful elements in the international community, in their ways as important as any of the big Powers, although lacking in their military and economic potential?" [A/4390/Add.1, p, 8.]