UN General Assembly
1970

150. It is the belief of my Government that it is only when we have found adequate answers to these questions that we shall have the right to expect the Organization to play a significant role in the next decade. In this connexion, it is worth noting that proposals have been received from Canada, Colombia and Finland, among other countries, on the guidelines for a possible revision of the Charter and improvement of the structure and methods of work of the Organization. Others, including the United States of America, have suggested that as a means of facilitating the peaceful settlement of disputes the Statute of the International Court of Justice should be revised to enable it to work more effectively as a court. Equally, we believe that any suggested review of the Charter should give serious consideration of the principle of universality of membership of the Organization. I may also mention in passing that in the past the use of the veto has come in for considerable criticism and there have been suggestions for its total abolition.