UN General Assembly
1981

I come to this rostrum with mixed feelings: first, a sense of deep trust, which makes me see the United Nations as the supreme resort, a very special place where justice and peace reign, an irreplaceable springboard for efforts to bring about concord, understanding and solidarity among nations. This is a very powerful and sincere feeling, and it is ultimately that feeling which made me leave my distant country, Niger, to come here and speak to the Assembly in this crystal palace in Manhattan. 4. But I have another feeling, less exalted perhaps, because it is more practical, more human, more suited to this fine, distinguished Assembly which is greeting me today. It is a sense of vague dissatisfaction, born of certain demands and well-meaning criticism which make me regret that the United Nations is not always able to match the ideals of its Charter and the immense trust placed in it by most of the countries of the world.