UN General Assembly
1988

The world is currently undergoing an unprecedented process of rapid change. We have fully entered the information age and are witnessing the end of the so-called industrial age with no sense of loss. The United Nations must adapt to this process of change in order to be able to continue to fulfil its mission and to ensure the equitable distribution of technological resources and the enjoyment of their benefits by all States. The monopoly of advanced technologies in the hands of a few countries is turning a majority of nations into compulsory purchasers of imported technology. As a result of this, their political sovereignty is as much endangered as it would be by an act of war. Consequently, we need to universalise the availability of the new resources that are being produced through science and technology. This means an attitude of universal openness, on the part of all countries of the world, industrialized and developing, to the free circulation, not only of goods and services, but ultimately of ideas and knowledge.