UNITED NATIONS Dec 3: Former Thailand prime minister Anand Panyarachun on Thursday said members of the UN reforms panel wanted to underscore that the world body should undertake serious efforts to resolve the festering disputes which undermined peace and security in the world.

Kashmir, Palestine and the Korean peninsula disputes were listed by the panel as being the "foremost". The Thai leader, who heads the high-level reforms panel, said following a press conference: "We were just giving our opinion, although we were precluded from examining these conflicts in depth in the mandate given by the secretary general."

Professor Stephen Stedman, who guided the panel and compiled the report, when asked at a press conference to comment on the assertions made by the panel, said: "They (panel members) want to signal to the UN Secretary General for all the reforms and policy changes they put forward, that in the absence of action to try to resolve these long-standing disputes, the efforts to build international peace and security will fall short."

In their transmittal letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the panel called on the world body to "redouble its efforts" to resolve festering Kashmir, Palestine and Korean peninsula disputes which it said fed new threats to the international peace and security.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Thursday gave his strong support to the findings of the high-level panel that looked at how the international community could address new and evolving security threats, including its recommendations for reforming the United Nations.

"I endorse its core arguments for a broader, more comprehensive system of collective security: one that tackles both new and old threats, and addresses the security concerns of all states - rich and poor, weak and strong," Mr Annan said in a letter transmitting the report to the UN General Assembly for review.

"The report offers the United Nations a unique opportunity to refashion and renew our institutions," he adds, promising to quickly consider and implement specific recommendations that fall within his purview.

The 95-page report, "A more secure world: our shared responsibility," was formally presented this morning in New York to the secretary-general by the chairman of the high-Level panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, former prime minister Anand Panyarachun of Thailand.

Mr Annan had appointed the 16-member panel of prominent politicians, diplomats and development experts in November 2003, to assess the current threats facing the international community, evaluate the UN's ability to address those challenges, and recommend policy and institutional changes to deal with them.