After years of heated discussions and debates by the panel of specialists appointed by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a report on UN reform has finally been made public. 

The landmark report, published on Tuesday, on how the world body should be reformed, offers sweeping proposals on what would be the largest shakedown since its founding in 1945.

The lengthy report has come up with two models for expanding the Security Council from the current 15 to 24 members.

One method, it suggests, is to add six new permanent members to the council and three new non-permanent members to the 10 current non-permanent members, who hold two-year rotating seats. The six newly added permanent seats will enjoy no veto power and will be allotted to two nations from Asia, two from Africa, one from Europe and one from the Americas.

The other proposal is to create a third tier of council members, which will be given four-year and non-permanent seats that can be renewed, according to the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which consists of 16 renowned veteran diplomats, including former Thai Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun as head of the panel, and former Chinese Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen.

Setting out a blueprint for collective security decisions, the report calls for collective actions.

"The yearning for an international system governed by the rule of law has grown," it said. "No state, no matter how powerful, can by its own efforts alone make itself invulnerable to today's threats."

The report has set a basic tone for the reform of the world body, that the reformed Security Council will represent broader membership, especially that of the developing world.

And the comprehensive system of collective security outlined by the report, is expected to help the body whose authority has been seriously tainted by a string of unilateral actions of some of its members, to tackle "threats" and conflicts, and address the security concerns of all countries, rich and poor, weak and strong.

The changing world needs a changing UN, forever aimed at promoting world peace and development.

The report has set out a broad framework for systematic improvements of the UN in dealing with global issues, such as poverty, organized crimes, anti-terrorism and anti-proliferation.

Predictably, discussions, disputes and contentions are expected to lie ahead in the ongoing round of UN reform.

But no matter what the final result will be, a strengthened and more effective UN -- one that can really serve all members in the world -- is much needed.

(China Daily December 2, 2004)