The role of the United Nations.
The most important role for the United Nations con-
sists of its efforts to work on the most dangerous conflicts
among and within States that provide the key motivations for
acquiring weapons, including weapons of mass destruction.
The United Nations must enhance these efforts to combat this
danger at the source. In this context, the Organization should
continue to support and encourage efforts at the regional level
to cope with the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, including to non-state actors, e.g., the proposed
Zone Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle
East, supported by all countries in the region.
Among the instruments of the international commu-
nity to combat the dangers of the spread of weapons and of
international terrorism, the first priority is to strengthen inter-
national treaties and other arrangements that serve these
objectives. To this end, the capabilities of the United Nations,
and the Security Council in particular, to uphold these treaties
must be further enhanced, notably the capacity to respond in
cases of grave non-compliance that could pose a threat to
peace and international security.
I have to say they have been a dismal failure.