UN General Assembly
1999

is understandable that national interests will influence how members vote in the Security Council, we have never accepted that some narrow interests of any one of five countries should be able to override the will of a clear majority of members. The adoption by the Security Council of its resolution 1244 (1999) of 10 June, which provided the international community's endorsement of a political solution to the Kosovo conflict, was certainly greeted with much relief in most quarters, including in New Zealand. The resolution was proof, if any were needed, that the United Nations remains, as in East Timor, the indispensable organization. And as the Secretary-General observed at the time, it also gave strong legal underpinning to the task ahead, a task which, he noted, is daunting. The contribution of the dedicated United Nations and specialized agency staff who are now working with little fanfare in Kosovo certainly deserves our recognition. Both Kosovo and East Timor have put the Security Council to the test. In their own ways they have challenged this Organization's capacity to take effective action in the