Annan lists top 5 lessons from U.N. post

INDEPENDENCE, Mo., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday the Security Council's membership reflects the reality of 1945, not today.

Annan's remarks were published in the Washington Post prior to their delivery in a speech at the Truman Presidential Museum & Library in Independence, Mo.

Annan, whose term ends Dec. 31, said he had learned five major lessons while at the hem of the United Nations.

The first, he said, was the need for global security against "such threats as nuclear proliferation, climate change, global pandemics or terrorists operating from safe havens in failed states."

The second was the need for global welfare where no one is left in poverty because of globalization. The third lesson Annan listed was the need for "respect for human rights and the rule of law."

Annan said governments must be accountable for their actions both at home and abroad, and finally, he said it was necessary to give poor and the weak countries some influence over the actions of the rich and the strong.

"New permanent or long-term members should be added to the U.N. Security Council, whose current membership reflects the reality of 1945, not of today," Annan said.

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