United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday called for the strengthening of the present collective security system to enable it to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

"We need to keep working to strengthen the system of collective security, and to make sure it is up to the task of meeting the threats of the 21st century," said Annan before ringing the Peace Bell in the New York UN headquarters to mark the International Day of Peace.

In his speech, Annan also listed other issues he believes merit special attention of the international community.

He said world governments "need to do better in forging a true partnership for development, to fight hunger, ignorance, poverty and disease and meet the millennium development goals."

They also need to promote greater tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world, he said.

"Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development than a world divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines," he noted. "In each nation, and among all nations, we must work to promote unity based on our shared humanity."

A high-level panel Annan appointed last year is due to come up with recommendations in December on what major challenges the world is facing and how to deal with it collectively.

The Peace Bell, cast from coins collected by children from 60 countries, was presented to the United Nations by the UN Association of Japan in 1954.

This year's international peace day coincided with the start of the ministerial-level debate of the UN General Assembly, which brought together nearly 100 heads of state or government.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2004)