UN General Assembly
1989

The linkage between disarmament and development is now well appreciated. The world spends a trillion dollars annually on armaments. This Is equivalent to the debt burden which hangs like a sword of Damocles over the third world countries. Needless to say, in many cases a large part of this debt is accounted for by the procurement of armaments. The importance of the release of resources from disarmament to development, therefore, need net be overemphasised. Global security cannot be achieved without eradicating world-wide poverty, disease and injustice. Lack of economic and social advancement, large-scale m employ men t and underemployment, scarcity of resources, degradation of the environment and trafficking in drugs threaten international peace and security as much as do military threats. The world economic is in disarray and afflicted by severe imbalances and inequities. The improvement in relations between East and West contrasts poignantly with the widening gap between North and South in economic relations. While the industrialized countries have continued to register growth, the standard of living in many developing countries has declined. The reality in many of the developing countries is one of unmet basic needs, of child mortality, of illiteracy, disease and hunger.