UN General Assembly
1979

﻿Throughout the world people are wondering whether next year will succeed in being the year of justice for the peoples, since 1979 has been for the third world, and for Africa in particular, a year of disappointments. 160. Embroiled in an accelerating evolution and precipitated into a series of crises—the energy crisis, the economic crisis, the moral crisis, the financial crisis— our world has probably never been so much a prey to self-doubt as it is now concerning its capacity to resolve the problems it faces. 161. The fear distilled in various places by crises both profound and irrational has, as it were, forced human societies into a defensive posture in which they with-draw into themselves. In attempting to draw up the balance sheet—whether when dealing with UNCTAD or the North-South dialogue—we are inevitably led to note a record of failure: justice for peoples is still hard to find.