UN General Assembly
1983

7. The arms race not only increases this threat of human extinction but also diverts the attention and depletes the strength of those who have the material resources and the required technological know-how and who could contribute to the improvement of the quality of life in every corner of the world. It is perhaps pertinent in this context to mention that the estimate of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London is that a record of $800 billion was spent on weapons during the past year. In this century of space exploration it is inadmissible that famine, poverty, illiteracy and disease should still be plaguing significant sections of the population of our planet. With what conscience can we claim to have conquered our immediate universe when human beings are dying from hunger and disease and when thousands born daily will grow up in unacceptable conditions? These contradictions are fed and strengthened by the antagonisms that characterize big-Power relations; antagonisms that are translated into global crises, which in turn are translated into confrontational attitudes resulting in an intensified arms race.