UN General Assembly
1982

for justified optimism in this regard. 12. That special session of the Assembly, however, did have the merit of producing a considerable impact on public opinion and beginning a process of creating awareness, the effects of which may be felt only in the medium or long term. We hope that the new phenomenon of the pacifist movement—which should be allowed to express itself freely, even though efforts are made to prevent it—will succeed in bringing moral pressure to bear throughout the world to advance the cause of disarmament, so vital for the future of humanity. 13. The nuclear nations have a special role in the disarmament process. I take this opportunity to say how much importance we attach to ensuring that negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union on nuclear weapons of medium range lead rapidly to tangible results. We Europeans are indeed the first to be concerned about this type of weaponry and for us the success of those negotiations is of primordial importance. 14. We hope also that the negotiations begun