UN General Assembly
1982

process and its objectives. I do not wish to reiterate here the horrifying statistics of world expenditure on arms, for, in the words of the report of the Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues, under the chairmanship of Olaf Palme, now Sweden's head of Government, they have assumed a sort of deadening familiarity. Effective resolution of the disarmament issue depends primarily on East West negotiations and on the political action of the super Powers. However, all countries, large and small, must lend their voices in support of early action. It is in the common interest of all of us to avoid war. Barbados is convinced that the level of armaments will not be reduced unless hard negotiations are concluded between the super Powers and agreement reached on a mutual and balanced force reduction. We hope that universal awareness of the potentially devastating consequences of the arms race will encourage efforts to bring about effective and conclusive negotiations on this issue Barbados will continue to share the related concerns of the international community on matters of security and development. If