Thursday, May 18 2006 11:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Houston: Noting that many of the world's ills could be eliminated for less than a third of the global annual expenditure on armaments, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency has said there should be a new emphasis on the universal freedoms to eliminate extremism and terrorism.

"Regardless of differences of nationality, ethnicity, culture or faith, it is high time to understand that we are all part of one human family, with shared core values - and what is more important is that we act accordingly," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei said on being awarded International Four Freedoms award by the Roosevelt Stichting Foundation.

"The current global approach to security is in my view dysfunctional, and cannot endure. We, therefore, need to work urgently towards the development of a new collective security system," he said at the week-end ceremony in Middelburg, the Netherlands, calling for an effective and equitable mechanism to address the security needs of all.

Such a system must be based not on nuclear deterrence, but on human security, human solidarity and human interdependence.

"This requires a new mindset and reformed institutions," he said.

The Four Freedoms Award, named in honour of the United States World War II-era President Franklin D Roosevelt, highlights the freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.