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Independence and impartiality as the heart and soul of the Secretary-General
- Source: UN Chronicle, Volume 52, Issue 2, Dec 2015, p. 11 - 12
- French
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- 16 Dec 2015
Abstract
My United Nations memories reach very far back; as a young diplomat, I attended the first session of the General Assembly, in London, in 1946. It was a time of immense hope which was soon dashed. Before the end of the decade the permanent members of the Security Council were in open competition both ideologically and geopolitically. The collegiality between them, on which rested the collective security system, disappeared. A new world war with major powers in direct confrontation was averted, but otherwise, for decades, the ability of the United Nations to carry out its primary purpose, the maintenance of international peace and security, was severely constrained.
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