gent interests have a tendency to prevail over our obliga- tions to the international community, and that has led to unfortunate consequences for the authority and the integ- rity of the Council and has undermined the confidence Member States have placed in us. 145. It could hardly be otherwise, when we have set aside such important problems as Namibia, apartheid, Palestine, the Middle East and Cyprus, for which we are still seeking solutions, not to mention those problems that have been deliberately disregarded, either because the interested par- ties have not deemed it useful to seize us of these matters or else because, guided by special and fleeting interests, we have not felt ready to examine them, still less to propose any solutions. 146. We must also consider ways and means to strength- en the respective preventive roles of the Security Council and the Secretary-General. That, as the Secretary-General has just reminded us, would entail setting up a rapid-alert system that could help to prevent dangerous crises, making available on a permanent and systematic basis of data on the development of crises and on the risks of potential disputes, a power to be entrusted to the Council or to the Secretary-General to take initiatives, even in the absence of formal notification of a matter, the coordination or, even better, the linking of the Council’s efforts with those of regional, international and sub-regional organs, and the search for new conciliation procedures that would make this system more compelling to the parties involved. 13 147. However, our ability to take effective and syste- matic action would be improved only if we make use of all the resources offered by the Charter, whether in Chapter VI, Chapter VII or Chapter VIII. Thus, we would be assured that any solutions and settlements we might pro- 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the role of the United Nations Security Council and its effectiveness in preventing and resolving conflicts, with a focus on the importance of taking initiative and using all available resources. It does not mention specific economic, environmental, or social issues, but rather addresses the Council's authority and integrity.

**Category**
International relations