UN General Assembly
1969

will not permit it. Nevertheless, their usefulness in supervising a cease-fire or maintaining the status quo, pending a satisfactory solution, cannot be underrated. This peace-keeping role of the United Nations has assumed great importance, specially for the smaller nations. My delegation hopes that the constitutional and financial crises confronting the United Nations will be resolved in this spirit. 144. The past year has also been unproductive in the field of disarmament. A matter of regret in this connexion is the failure of the major nuclear Powers to enter into bilateral discussions on the limitation and reduction of offensive strategic nuclear-weapons delivery systems and systems of defence against ballistic missiles, which were promised at the time of the signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on 1 July 1968 [see resolution 2373 (XXII)]. 145. The present decade has witnessed significant measures of non-armament such as the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and under Water, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities