UN General Assembly
1984

136. More and more, it is obvious that the international community must gear itself, both practically and constitutionally, to the task of shoring up the sovereignty and integrity of its smaller member States. The other possibilities are stark: if, in times of trouble, small States cannot be confident of the disinterested embrace of this Organization, there is a very real risk that they will fall into the clutches of those whose interests and power are by definition inimical to the flourishing of diversity and independence among States. 137. It is not only on the political front that small States are exposed to security threats. Policies on the part of powerful States which amount to economic coercion can easily upset the fragile balance of small open economies. I need hardly say that disruption of economic security leads sooner or later to political instability.