UN:Kofi Annan has used his final speech as United Nations secretary general to warn the US not to lose sight of its democratic principles in the struggle against terrorism.
Speaking at the Harry S Truman presidential library in Independence, Missouri, Mr Annan said human rights and the rule of law were vital to global security and prosperity "That is why this country has historically been in the vanguard of the global human rights movement. But that lead can only be maintained if America remains true to its principles, including in the struggle against terrorism. When it appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled," he said.
Mr Annan, who has criticised the US-led war in Iraq, said that countries need to play by the rules towards each other, as well as towards their own citizens.
"That can sometimes be inconvenient but ultimately what matters is not convenience. It is doing the right thing. No state can make its own actions legitimate in the eyes of others. When power, especially military force, is used, the world will consider it legitimate only when convinced that it is being used for the right purpose - for broadly shared aims - in accordance with broadly accepted norms," he said.
Mr Annan, who is leaving the UN after 10 years as secretary general, said that his time in office had taught him that the global nature of many of the challenges facing humanity meant that they could only be tackled multilaterally.
"In fact, it is only through multilateral institutions that states can hold each other to account. And that makes it very important to organise those institutions in a fair and democratic way, giving the poor and the weak some influence over the actions of the rich and the strong," he said.
He said that reforming the UN security council should not only involve expanding its membership but reminding its most powerful members of their responsibility towards others.
"All council members, and especially the major powers who are permanent members, must accept the special responsibility that comes with their privilege. The Security Council is not just another stage on which to act out national interests. It is the management committee, if you will, of our fledgling collective security system," he said.
Mr Annan has clashed repeatedly with the US over Iraq and he had a stormy relationship with Washington's UN ambassador John Bolton, who is also stepping down this month. Paying tribute to Truman, Mr Annan made a veiled swipe at the Bush administration in calling for a return to America's multilateralist tradition.
"More than ever today Americans, like the rest of humanity, need a functioning global system through which the world's peoples can face global challenges together. And in order to function, the system still cries out for far-sighted American leadership, in the Truman tradition," he said.