UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday welcomed the adoption of a scaled-down UN reform package by the UN General Assembly, but deplored the exclusion of a chapter on disarmament and nonproliferation in the document.

 

"The good news is that we do have an outcome document, which has just been approved by the General Assembly, almost unanimously, with two delegations reserving their position," he told a press conference after the closing session of the 59th General Assembly.

 

He listed some of the progress made in the document, citing the inclusion of a good chapter on development, the approval of establishment of Human Rights Council and Peace-building Commission.

 

But he said that the big missing is nonproliferation and disarmament, describing it as a "real disgrace."

 

"We didn't get everything we wanted…. But we can build on it," he noted. "The challenge is implementation."

 

"Reform is a process, not an event and we are going to continue after the summit" of world leaders that will open Wednesday, Annan said.

 

"I hope the leaders will see this as a real signal for them to pick up the ashes and really show leadership on this important issue when we are all concerned about weapons of mass destruction and the possibility that they may even get into the wrong hands."

 

The UN chief urged the world leaders who are coming here for the UN summit to step up their efforts and meet the challenge and show leadership on this issue.

 

The accord was reached at a plenary session of the 59th General Assembly that ended Tuesday, on the eve of a summit of world leaders that will consider the reform package.

 

The much-delayed deal came after marathon negotiations by a core group composed of 32 UN member states on a 39-page reform document that tried to reconcile the competing interests of rich and poor nations.

 

The document sought to strike a balance between alleviating global poverty and battling terrorism while promoting human rights, safeguarding against genocides and tightening UN management practices.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2005)