During that year's Assembly meetings, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali refused to send an invitation for the U.N.'s 50th anniversary celebration to former Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim who, it emerged in the mid-'80s, had been charged with murder by the War Crimes Commission for his role as an intelligence officer for the Nazis during World War II. To save face, Boutros-Ghali also disinvited Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the only other former Secretary-General still alive. Pérez de Cuéllar graciously did not attend and said he understood.
Top 10 U.N. General-Assembly Moments
As the U.N. General Assembly convenes, TIME takes a look back at the 10 most memorable moments in the GA's history
By Frances Romero