UN General Assembly
1969

forward further considerations. In the first place, with regard to the transfer of financial resources, the industrialized countries have not kept their publicly repeated promises to transfer 1 per cent of their gross national product. If that were done, the next decade could be called the Development Decade. This should be recognized forth - with because the strategy of the developing countries can no longer treat with respect the diplomatic excuses, which are always circumstantial, put forward to justify the non-fulfilment of promises: balance-of-payments problems, the gold crisis, devaluations, warlike acts, even disputes between government departments of individual States. 154. And the worst feature is that while these excuses are being made, the flow of financial resources in question is reversed, to the great advantage of the rich countries. Of course, the nationals of those countries are still convinced that they and their Governments are making great sacrifices to help the poor countries. But nothing is further from the truth. All this would change if Governments had the political will, because the resources exist, as the military