UN General Assembly
1988

Today the weapons in the Gulf are silent. Negotiations have been begun between the warring parties. A year after its unanimous adoption by the Security Council, resolution 598 (1987) has been accepted by both parties to the conflict as a basis for a cease-fire. In Afghanistan the Geneva agreements, likewise achieved with the decisive assistance of the United Nations, created the conditions for the withdrawal of the Soviet troops. Fifty per cent of those troops have already left the country in accordance with the terms of the agreements. Following his talks in southern Africa the Secretary-General has expressed his confidence with regard to the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978). None of this progress has simply fallen into the world Organization's lap. These achievements are the outcome of a favourable change in the international climate and are the product of the manifold efforts of the principal organs of the United Nations, above all its Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar.