UN General Assembly
1986

The quest for superiority and hegemony, the quest for unilateral advantages, the exploitation of political, military and economic power, the attempt to bring others to their knees, the attempt to force one's own social order on others: all these are outdated aspirations. Again and again they have dragged mankind into catastrophe. The peoples of the world are no longer prepared to tolerate such policies. My country, the Federal Republic of Germany, is on the side of progress, co-operation, human rights, self-determination and peace. We regard man, in his unalterable dignity, in his uniqueness and in his freedom, as the focus of all action. Those values are the cornerstone of the alliance between democratic Europe, the United States and Canada. The President of this session of the General Assembly himself comes from a country that has sought international co-operation time and again to overcome difficult economic problems. I wish him and the United Nations good fortune and success.