WASHINGTON, March 19: Secretary-General Kofi Annan will propose on Monday sweeping changes to the United Nations, including expansion of the Security Council and changes to a human rights panel, the Los Angeles Times reported. The plan, aimed in part at preventing new scandals at the much-criticized world body, will be presented to the General Assembly, the paper said on its Web site on Saturday, citing a draft copy of the reform plan it said it had obtained.

The proposals are intended to maintain the United Nations as the main setting for world security decisions and to keep it dominant in international development issues, the paper said.

The reforms must be endorsed by the General Assembly and by world leaders attending a UN summit in September. They are seen in part as an attempt to make the beleaguered organization more relevant, the paper said.

Its role has come under increased scrutiny since the US decision to invade Iraq without Security Council approval and scandals involving corruption in an Iraqi oil-for-food programme.

The report urges the holding of an anti-terrorism convention by September next year, new moves to curb nuclear proliferation, and an agreement on rules for the use of force and pre-emptive action, the Los Angeles Times said.—Reuters