The Security Council's caseload of war-torn countries has spotlighted the need for the United Nations to pre-empt crises and to ensure that its peacebuilding efforts include long-term engagement and ways to help strengthen institutions that provide security and justice based on the rule of law, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.

The United Nations Security Council today expressed its deep concern over troubling humanitarian situations in many parts of Africa and, recognizing that the efforts to turn back such crises were often under-funded, stressed the need for the prompt and predictable provision of resources and relief aid.