Annan drafts UN changes

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday will propose establishing new rules for the use of military force, adopting a tough anti-terrorism tr...

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday will propose establishing new rules for the use of military force, adopting a tough anti-terrorism treaty that would punish suicide bombers, and overhauling the United Nation8217;s discredited human rights commission, according to a draft of a report on UN reform.

The 63-page report represents Annan8217;s most ambitious effort to restore international confidence the organisation. But he faces an uphill battle to secure backing for some of his more controversial proposals from key members, including the US, which opposes Annan8217;s advocacy of the International Criminal Court.

Annan8217;s report, titled In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security, and Human Rights For All, calls for expanding the 15-nation Security Council before year8217;s end to ensure more democratic representation on the UN8217;s most powerful institution.

While Annan said he would leave it to governments to determine the structure of an enlarged council, he backed efforts by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, which are seeking permanent Security Council seats, to ensure that an agreement cannot be blocked by a single member that opposes their candidacies. 8216;8216;It would be far preferable for member states to take this vital decision by consensus,8217;8217; Annan wrote.8216;8216;But if they are unable to reach consensus, this must not be an excuse for postponing action.8217;8217;

nbsp;	New shades of blue

		nbsp;	8226; New rules on unilateral use of military force 8226; Anti-terrorism treaty that would punish suicide bombers 8226; Revamped rights commission	nbsp;

The contentious international debate that preceded the Iraq war led to 8216;8216;declining public confidence in the United Nations8217;8217; by supporters of the war, who believed the organization had failed to enforce its own resolutions, and opponents, who faulted it for failing to stop the war. Annan urged that the Security Council forge agreement on 8216;8216;when and how force can be used.8217;8217; He proposed that it adopt a resolution setting out principles 8212;8212; including a determination whether the military option is proportional to the threat 8212;8212; that would guide it in making the decision whether to go to war. UN officials said they expected stiff resistance to the proposal from the Bush administration. But they say that Washington appreciates Annan8217;s support in the report for the Bush administration8217;s Proliferation Security Initiative.

The US is also amenable to Annan8217;s call for an anti-terrorism convention that would define terrorism as any act that is 8216;8216;intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or noncombatants8217;8217; to intimidate a community, government or international organization.

He also called for strengthening the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. But he said that the Commission on Human Rights, which has included countries such as Sudan, Cuba and Libya with histories of rights violations, has 8216;8216;been increasingly undermined.8221; In its place, Annan proposed creating a smaller Human Rights Council, whose members would be appointed by the General Assembly. 8212; LAT-WP