UN General Assembly
1993

reforms must therefore seek to establish the United Nations as the principal forum in which macro-political, economic and social policies are collectively and consensually devised. If truth be told, the United Nations is still largely perceived, notwithstanding its recent successes in the political field, as a "talk shop". Like the old Congress of Vienna, which was described as a "perpetual dance", it is viewed in the eyes of our peoples - particularly the poor and the suffering - as an endless round of dilatory debate which produces fine resolutions but precious little by way of concrete action. To survive and succeed, therefore, the United Nations must become relevant to the lives of men, women and children everywhere. Urgent action is required at this explosive period of mounting external debt, falling economic growth, falling third-world commodity prices, increasing unemployment, environmental destruction, underdevelopment and the persistence of poverty. Our troubled planet calls for statesmanship, political will and cooperation for meaningful change. Market forces alone are not providing the people with adequate opportunities to participate in and benefit from