UN General Assembly
1983

54. Over 65 major wars have been fought in the past 20 years, with a total loss of life in excess of ten million people. 55. At present, over 40 major and minor armed conflicts are in progress. The loss of life, the injuries and the destruction in the past weeks in Lebanon are the most recent and dramatic reminder of man's barbarism and his innate capacity for violence. 56. World military expenditure, already at record levels, is increasing at a rate of four per cent each year. Put more concretely, over $1 million are expended world-wide every minute for military purposes. 57. One quarter of all spending on research and development is in the military sector. Thus by a strange perversion of values is man's distinctive genius—his capacity for scientific thought and technological progress—directed towards destructive rather than constructive ends. 58. The world stockpile of nuclear weapons exceeds 50,000, and unless present trends can be reversed through serious negotiation and agreement on arms control and disarmament, it seems set to increase even further.