UN General Assembly
1996

of the predictions of some of the most cautious analysts. A stalemate persists — an uncomfortable stalemate that leads to a feeling of uncertainty and frustration, of insecurity about the future of the United Nations, and thus of apprehension. In the wake of momentous changes on the international scene, the United Nations has embarked upon a new phase in its history without the means and the effectiveness to act as the highest political forum of mankind and to fulfil the mandate conferred upon it by the international community — a mandate that remains as valid today as it was half a century ago. Back in 1961, President John F. Kennedy referred to the United Nations as “our last, best hope”. In the face of the threat of nuclear war and in the midst of various conflicts, those words expressed the confidence of the international community in an Organization founded on the universal principles of peace, understanding and prosperity for all peoples. At that time President Kennedy renewed a pledge to the United Nations, offering: