Beijing Review: Mr. Secretary General, when you complete your second term as secretary general of the UN in December, you will have worked in the UN system for about 45 years. Working for this top world organization is no easy job, especially when you are at its helm. What made you choose it as a career for such a long time?

Kofi Annan: We in the UN know that our work is never done. But despite the challenges, I truly believe in the ideals of the organization. Today, more than ever, the world needs an effective mechanism through which to tackle common problems and seek common solutions. That mechanism is the UN. That is what the UN was created for. And I am honored to have been part of it.

Never has there been a more pressing need for us to strengthen the system of collective security to forge a true global partnership for development, and to promote greater tolerance and understanding among people. Never has there been a greater need to build greater international solidarity in tackling humanitarian emergencies, like the one in Darfur. That is the serious work that lies ahead of the international community. And let's not imagine that if we fail to make good use of the UN we will find any more effective instrument. The UN is not only highly relevant in today's world, it is necessary.

Having worked for the UN for so many years, are you planning to do something related to the world organization after your retirement?

After my retirement, I plan to focus on issues that are dear to my heart, including girls' education and development in Africa.

It is said that since you became the UN secretary general you have devoted great effort to revitalizing the UN through a reform program, which was the first major initiative you presented in 1997 as UN secretary general. How do you evaluate the world organization's reform over the past years? What has been the most difficult moment during its reform?

Everyone seems to agree that the UN needs reform. What has sometimes been challenging, however, has been mustering the political will from member states to push through those reforms.

Nevertheless, important steps have been taken over the past year. Member states have created a new Peacebuilding Commission to better manage the difficult transition from war to peace. They established a Central Emergency Response Fund to help the victims of humanitarian disasters. A Democracy Fund has been launched to strengthen institutions and ensure that people can exercise their democratic rights. The General Assembly created the Human Rights Council, a historic step that will enable us to restore the organization's credibility in this key area. For my part, I have placed before the membership a new set of proposals for an overhaul of the organization's management. Building on previous rounds of reform, my goal is a more transparent, accountable and effective instrument of service to humankind.

Would you please comment on the expansion of the number of UN Security Council permanent members?

I still believe very strongly in the need for Security Council reform and I have said time and time again that no reform of the UN will be complete without it. I do not think member states should let it drop. They should pursue it, because the lack of reform partly explains why we have tensions in the organization today. The world has changed since 1945, and the UN has to adapt. Many member states feel that our governance structure is anachronistic and we cannot continue to have a situation where the power base is perceived to be controlled by only five member states.

Before becoming UN secretary general, you were in charge of UN peacekeeping operations for many years as both assistant secretary general and under secretary general. How do you evaluate today's UN peacekeeping operations around the world? Are they playing a role as expected?

Today, nearly 73,000 uniformed personnel and more than 13,000 civilians are serving the cause of peace in 15 peacekeeping operations around the globe. They are maintaining ceasefires and monitoring borders, disarming former combatants, fostering reconciliation, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance, helping refugees and displaced persons to return home, and ensuring conditions for democratic elections, the rule of law, reconstruction and economic recovery.

The demand for UN peacekeeping is as high as it has ever been. Indeed, we have more missions deployed than ever before. UN peacekeepers work every day to give practical meaning to the words of the UN Charter "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war."

What do you see as the future role of the UN? What do you think is the toughest task for your successor in promoting the world organization?

The pace of today's globalized world means that change is a constant. This is no different for the UN. Member states' demands of the UN and its Secretariat, agencies, funds and programs have grown enormously. The UN is expected to deliver more services to more people in more places than ever before. And these demands and expectations have strained the organization's existing structures and systems.

The principles of the Charter of the UN are today as relevant as they were in 1946. But the way we deliver on these aims and objectives has to move with the times. Since I took office, reform has been a priority-from more effective peace operations to closer partnerships with civil society and the private sector, from improved management structures and systems to security for staff in the field.

As for my successor, I hope that he or she will be able to get the support needed from member states to carry out the reforms that the UN needs in order to better serve humankind.

How do you assess China's role at the UN, especially during your time as secretary general?

What China does, and how China fares, will help determine how the world as a whole meets the challenges of the 21st century. And China's ongoing transformation, its growing constructive global leadership and its dynamic engagement with the UN give us real cause for optimism.

China's advancement is not limited to the field of economic and social development. It is also at the forefront of many global health efforts, as we saw when it hosted the International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Influenza earlier this year.

China is also becoming increasingly engaged in the work for multilateral solutions in international peace and collective security. For example, as host of the six-party talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, China has played a crucial role on this pressing issue.

Earlier this year, I congratulated China on its election to the new Human Rights Council. Now it is time for China and other members of the council to find ways to ensure the protection of the human rights of all people in every country in the world.

The UN family looks forward to an ever more engaged partnership with China in the years to come. We are determined to help China realize the tremendous promise it holds. And in the international arena, we can provide an essential platform as China continues to go global.

Along with its economic development, China has been increasingly integrated into the international community. However, some see China's development as a threat. How do you view China's economic growth?

China's extraordinary economic growth over the past decade has lifted hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty, representing both an achievement in itself and an enormous contribution to the attainment globally of the Millennium Development Goals. The dynamism of the Chinese economy is driving trade growth and investment throughout much of Asia and, increasingly, Africa as well, in ways that we have every reason to expect will be to the long-term benefit of the developing world in general. At the same time, all countries have to ensure that the agreements they sign with any foreign investors are fair, equitable and stand the test of time, and that exploitation of precious resources comes to benefit the country's own population.