Annan urges the world to restore UN credibility

After a year of mounting criticism, Secretary-General Kofi Annan defended the United Nations yesterday and urged global leaders to restore the organisation’s credibility by adopting broad reforms needed for the world to act together to tackle poverty, terrorism and conflict.

Addressing a summit that he called a year ago in hopes of winning approval for an ambitious blueprint to modernise the United Nations on its 60th anniversary, Annan told more than 150 presidents, prime ministers and kings yesterday that “a good start” had been made.