UN General Assembly
1995

action is a sine qua non for effectively combating these and other evils tormenting world society. Our most important goal must be the implementation of our existing commitments, as provided for in the Charter. In placing the emphasis on this, we are setting no modest objective. What we should recognize is that the body of principles and commitments which have been built up over the last 50 years cover the full range of civil, political, economic and social issues. Our task should be to reduce the obvious gap between accepted principles and everyday practice, to apply these principles without discrimination and at the same time to consider ways of strengthening further the existing mechanisms. In this context, we must face up to the problem of holding to full account those who flout the authority of the United Nations, persistently refuse to respect the rights of others and choose to disregard the international commitments which they have freely accepted. When I speak of the need to uphold the authority of