United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan met with state leaders of Asia and Africa on Friday to move forward his reform agenda for the battered global institution. The U.N.'s reputation has been tarnished in recent years by a string of corruption, sexual abuse and mismanagement allegations, as well as criticism that the all powerful Security Council is outdated in its approach to representation. Annan was scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Japanese President Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other leaders to push forward the reforms outlined in his report, "In Larger Freedom". In opening remarks to representatives of nearly 100 countries attending the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta, Annan urged U.N. member states to make "far-reaching decisions on development, security, human rights and institutional reform" when they travel to New York in September to further discuss the reform efforts and discuss the Millenium Goals. "I am motivated by a simple conviction - the human family will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights," Annan said. "But I am not trying to impose change on the United Nations," he said. "I cannot do that. The decisions are for the member states to make. My goal is to help them to be as innovative and as visionary as your forebears were in Bandung." --more 1252 Local Time 0952 GMT
