In March of this year, Secretary-General Kofi Annan convened an independent panel to review UN peacekeeping activities and make recommendations for improvement. Wednesday, the UN posted the panel's report, together with Annan's full endorsement. From the links on the bottom of this page, users can access the full report in HTML or .pdf format, along with the executive summary, a summary of recommendations, the press release, fact sheets, and a list of panel members. The report opens with a somewhat dire pronouncement: "The United Nations was founded, in the words of its Charter, in order 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.' . . . Over the last decade, the United Nations has repeatedly failed to meet the challenge; and it can do no better today. Without significant institutional change, increased financial support, and renewed commitment on the part of Member States, the United Nations will not be capable of executing the critical peacekeeping and peace-building tasks that the Member States assign it in coming months and years." In light of this judgment, it's not surprising that the panel recommends far-reaching changes, each of which "is designed to remedy a serious problem in strategic direction, decision-making, rapid deployment, operational planning and support, and the use of modern information technology." In addition to English, the site is available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.