The remarkable Sixth and Seventh Special Sessions of the General Assembly, the developments within the United Nations and the welter of events which have followed have, by and large, confirmed the trends and reinforced the conclusions reached in this study. But new issues and new complexities have been introduced, and the final impact of the whole exercise on structure and coordination of the UN System, and, indeed, on the effectiveness of that system, is still too early to assess. Some description of the economic objectives and policies which have been the real issue, to which structure and organization are only means, cannot be avoided; nor can one altogether overlook the possible effect of the tactics of confrontation, through use of the voting power of the Third World, on the future potentialities for the use of UN machinery for negotiation or even for the objective consideration of world economic problems.

The Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, which was adopted at the Sixth Special Session (Resolution 3201 (S–VI)) opens with the portentous words:

We, the Members of the United Nations solemnly proclaim our united determination to work urgently for THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER based on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and co-operation among all States, irrespective of their economic and social systems which shall correct inequalities and redress existing injustices, make it possible to eliminate the widening gap between the developed and the developing countries and ensure steadily accelerating economic and social development and peace and justice for present and future generations…