Outgoing Secretary-General of the U.N., Kofi Annan criticizes U.S. foreign policy in a speech at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, Dec. 11, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

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    UN chief hails multilateralism in last major speech

    UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday that in conducting international relations member states should work together through a multilateral system in which the world body plays a central role.

    In a speech delivered at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Missouri, Annan outlined what he called "five lessons" he had learned in the last 10 years at the helm of the United Nations.

    These could be summed up as five principles which are essential for the future conduct of international relations: collective responsibility, global solidarity, the rule of law, mutual accountability, and multilateralism, he said.

    The lesson of multilateralism "derives inescapably from those other four," he said.

    "We can only do all these things by working together through a multilateral system, and by making the best possible use of the unique instrument bequeathed to us by Harry Truman and his contemporaries, namely the United Nations," he stressed.

    Harry Truman, the 33rd president of the United States in office from 1945 to 1953, saw the formation of the United Nations in his tenure.

    "In fact, it is only through multilateral institutions that states can hold each other to account. And that makes it very important to organize those institutions in a fair and democratic way, giving the poor and the weak some influence over the actions of the rich and the strong," he said.

    The secretary-general, who steps down at the end of this month, also made mention of the U.S. role in the world body.

    "As President Truman said, 'the responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world.' He showed what can be done and what can be achieved when the U.S. assumes that responsibility," Annan said.

    "And still today, none of our global institutions can accomplish much when the U.S. remains aloof. But when it is fully engaged, the sky is the limit," he added.

    The speech was meant to be Annan's last to an American audience before he steps down on Dec. 31.