responsibilities. There have been many armed conflicts since the creation of the United Nation, but humanity has been spared a conflagration of global proportions or repercussions. It would be naive to attribute this fact to the world Organization alone. Nevertheless, its role in defusing conflicts and keeping the peace should not be underestimated. BS/sm A/C.l/40/PV.4 16 (Mr. Tornudd, Finland) The United Nations Charter envisages a crucial role for the Organization in the field of disarmament as well. In Article 26 of the Charter, the Security Council is given the responsibility for "the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments". We know now that this ambitious scenario has not been implemented. We also know the reasons. The relationship between armaments and peace has become a complex and controversial issue. I only need to refer to the debate on nuclear arms that goes on year after year in this Committee. This anniversary session offers an appropriate setting for assessing the record of the United Nations in the field of disarmament, which - I believe all here agree -has remained modest. The gap between the aspirations of the peoples of the world, as set out for example in the Final Document of the first special session devoted to disarmament, and their achievements in disarmament through the United Nations, has continued to widen. Perhaps this session could provide a pause for reflection in the annual adoption of growing numbers of resolutions on disarmament as a matter of routine. Last year in my statement in this Committee, I said that the number of resolutions on nuclear weapons is not a valid measure of mankind's concern over the nuclear arms race, particularly if some of them are overlapping or even contradictory. We might more properly concentrate our joint efforts in producing a simple and clear 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the role of the United Nations in maintaining peace and preventing global conflicts, as well as its efforts in disarmament. It highlights the gap between the aspirations of the peoples of the world and the achievements of the United Nations in disarmament. This suggests that the text is more focused on international relations and security rather than economic or social issues.

**Category**
International relations, Security