annual report, has developed an analysis that by and large matches our own. 177. Our organization is not a super-State or a sort of world government. It is a body of sovereign States that includes almost all the States of the world, and thus it comes close to achieving the goal of universality which is implicit in the Charter. It therefore necessarily reflects the ideological, political, economic and social differences that exist in the world today. It is therefore inevitable that it should know difficulty and even failures. But what is essen- tial, to our mind, is that it should remain, in the terms of the Charter, a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of common ends. This presup poses in particular that it deal with the main problems affecting international peace and security. We are, how- ever, bound to observe that certain such problems are either not discussed or dealt with at the United Nations or give rise to resolutions that remain dead letters. Too often the Organization and the Security Council thus appear to be mere sounding boards, or even propaganda forums. Disagreement among certain of its most important Members is certainly one of the reasons for this phenome- non, but it is not the only one. 178. The blurring of the distinction between the respec- tive functions of the General Assembly and the Security Council has also contributed to this. One’ sees a growing tendency to transform debates of the Council-which should be action-oriented and should concern, above all, the members of the Council and the main parties to a dispute or conflict-into a substitute for a General Assem- bly debate, providing all the Member States with an oppor- tunity to make known their views on a given situation. 179. Another cause lies in the weakening of the sense of 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the United Nations and its role in international relations, specifically highlighting the challenges and shortcomings of the organization in achieving its goals. The author mentions the organization's need to harmonize the actions of nations, deal with problems affecting international peace and security, and avoid becoming a mere "sounding board" or "propaganda forum". The text also touches on the blurring of the distinction between the General Assembly and the Security Council's functions.

**Category**
International relations, Humanitarian aid and relief