Preventing Conflicts, Reducing Poverty key concepts for UN by Bertrand Ramcharan 8:27am 8th Nov, 2003   7 November – The United Nations' flagship concepts over the next 25 years should be conflict prevention, the alleviation of poverty and the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, the top UN human rights official said today.    Bertrand Ramcharan, the Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a conference in New York that the UN must adapt and change to handle the many contemporary challenges facing it.    Mr. Ramcharan told the conference - organized by the International Peace Academy and Columbia University - that the UN's resources over the next quarter century should focus on the flagship concepts he outlined.    He said the UN has to accept the power alignments in the world and the differences in perceptions between the North and the South.    "This means that the world body must try to find ways of building on areas of common ground and of seeking to help people in need practically on the ground, one life at a time," he said.    Mr. Ramcharan added that the protection and promotion of human rights is being increasingly integrated into the UN's role, from its humanitarian work to its peacekeeping and peace-observation missions.
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