United Nations: Embarrassed & Embittered

The current session of the General Assembly has been the least productive of any in the U.N.'s 19 years. Not only did the Assembly meet 2½ months late, but once it had gotten together, it could not adopt an agenda, it could not begin debate on its budget, and even the filling of such recherché posts as the secretary-generalship of UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) required bizarre behind-the-scenes maneuvering. Last week the Assembly's 114 delegates found themselves stealthily marking unofficial secret ballots in a tiny alcove off the vast...

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