UN General Assembly
1999

extent of the tragedies on that continent requires us to take more resolute action. Universality is compatible with complementarity in action. In the interests of efficiency, the United Nations must encourage, in every part of the world, regional arrangements among States capable of handling crises in the first instance. Such is the spirit of Chapter VIII of the Charter. Tasks should be realistically shared between the regional organizations and the Security Council without weakening the latter’s authority. For instance, my country has, through the RECAMP programme, along with others, strengthened African peacekeeping capabilities through assistance provided under United Nations auspices in cooperation with the Organization of African Unity. International security also demands continued disarmament in the context of multilateral and verifiable agreements. This is an ongoing objective for France, which hopes that the work of the Conference on Disarmament will be relaunched in the months prior to the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. France would like to see the prompt entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-