UN General Assembly
1961

11. At the top of the list of the problems, the continuance of which pose a real and grave threat to international peace and security, is the problem of disarmament. It is not a new problem, but with the achievements of science to date a solution to it has become a matter of extreme urgency. Since this matter concerns all and each of us, because of its threat to universal peace, its settlement should not be left to the great Powers alone. The United Nations, we maintain, should play the leading role in this field. It is not my intention here to add to the complexity of the problem by entering into a detailed programme of how disarmament should be achieved. Questions of vertical or horizontal disarmament or whether control should precede disarmament or vice versa should be left to the experts. What the General Assembly should now stress is the inescapable necessity of general and complete disarmament and the immediate cessation of nuclear and thermonuclear tests. This latter aspect of disarmament is of the utmost urgency and should not even await a comprehensive agreement on general and complete disarmament.