UN General Assembly
1993

continuing decline in voluntary contributions to the United Nations operational activities. The United Nations system has a central role to play in channelling assistance to developing countries, capitalizing on its comparative advantages of neutrality, widespread field-level presence and rapid response. The least developed countries are continuing to experience a deterioration of their socio-economic situation owing to profound structural constraints and handicaps which reduce their ability to overcome the negative impact of external factors. The issue of the stalemate in multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a matter of great concern to the developing countries. Further delays towards successful, balanced and comprehensive GATT negotiations will render the principle of trade as the engine of growth and development an illusion. These basic economic structural problems, coupled with a proneness to natural disasters, seriously hamper these countries’ efforts towards meaningful economic growth. The recent drought which struck the countries of eastern and southern Africa was the worst ever. In Lesotho, the Government has had to declare a state of continuing