UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned the United States from the rostrum of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday about the dangers of acting alone against Iraq.

Speaking in the presence of US President George W. Bush, Annan acknowledged that the UN Charter gave every country the right to self-defence if attacked.

But, he said: “When states decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations.”

Annan did not refer directly to the United States, but the thrust of his remarks was unmistakable.

“The more a country makes use of multilateral institutions, ... the more others will trust and respect it and the stronger its chance to exercise true leadership,” he said.

The action against Iraq by a US-led coalition in 1991 showed that UN member states were “willing to take actions under the authority of the Security Council which they would not be willing to take without it”, he added.

A senior UN official said the speech was “a very strong restatement of the multilateral faith on which the United Nations is based”, and described it as one of the most important Annan has ever made.

He said Annan had sent the text of his remarks to the US ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, “as a courtesy” on Wednesday.

Iraq’s refusal to comply with UN demands that it disarm was one of “four threats to world peace, where true leadership and effective action are badly needed”, Annan said.

The other threats were the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the continuing instability in Afghanistan and tensions between Pakistan and India, he said.

The leadership required to face these threats flowed from a readiness to work with other countries, notably through the UN Security Council, Annan said.

Annan urged Iraq to comply with council resolutions, “for the sake of its own people and for the sake of world order”.

He appealed to any country that had influence with Iraqi leaders “to impress on them the vital importance of accepting the weapons inspections”.

If Iraq’s defiance continued, “the Security Council must face its responsibilities”, he said.—AFP