UN General Assembly
1991

We realize how difficult it is simply to contemplate the changes I have just outlined. I know it means retreating from established positions, giving up some prerogatives, and undertaking a redistribution of international power to reflect the changes that have taken place in the world in recent years, particularly since 1989. But we believe that the task must have seemed just as daunting to those who, nearly half a century ago, defined the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and participation, not entirely free of illusions, at the end of the two conflicts that have divided the world during this century.