UN General Assembly
1951

9. The principal question in the minds of the people everywhere throughout the world is whether or not safety from war can be effectively assured through the United Nations. It would be foolish to expect too much of the United Nations which, after all, is not something distinct from and independent of the countries which compose it. It would be unreal to imagine that if differences between nations exist, as they do in many parts of the world unfortunately, they have only to be brought before the United Nations to find an automatic and immediate solution. As the Secretary-General has recently pointed out so very truly in the introduction to his report on the work of the Organization: “... the founders of our Organization never conceived that its mere establishment would of itself remove or prevent conflicts and differences of national interests... nor would it assure in advance the future good conduct and good faith of governments in all circumstances ”.