UN General Assembly
1976

198. Of course, if we strain the imagination, we can claim to identify microscopic signs of progress. We can indeed we must-derive some hope that the present dark clouds of hesitation are only temporarily obscuring the dawn of enlightenment and progress. This escapist tendency of squeezing optimism out of recalcitrant facts is, however, in itself an indication of the lack of deeper awareness of the nature of the problem confronting us. The needs of the present cannot be satisfied by vague consensus texts; they cannot be advanced by half-baked schemes arbitrarily injected in the middle of difficult negotiations; they cannot be suppressed by the imposition of negative attitudes, nor can they be deflected by the deployment of delaying or divisive tactics. 199. The necessary progress can be achieved only when all rations approach the dialog well prepared, when attitudes become more open and sincere, and when the issues debated are more specific.