UN General Assembly
1982

to necessitate a coherent and integrated approach to deal with them. No one should at this stage find it useful to argue in favour of separating the concerns of the North from those of the South. The crisis in the international economy and the measure of collective fears are reflected in the concerns which all countries, including those with surpluses, have regarding the world wide balance of payments situation. The concern of the Assembly must, however, go beyond simple accounting indices. We must be aware of the implications of such indices for the quality of life of those we have the honour to represent. The global economic recession's net effect on them is increasing unemployment brought about by the weakening in the world demand for goods and services. High levels of unemployment now threaten the social and political order in both the North and the South. In the developing world, unemployment levels of up to 30 per cent are not unusual. Vast sectors of young and courageous populations have never had the chance to secure gainful employment.