President George W. Bush speaks Tuesday during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Africa at the United Nations headquarters. Looking are Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad.

United Nations ? President Bush invoked principles used in the founding of the United Nations on Tuesday to focus on human rights and chide extremist groups and governments he said are a “threat to civilized people everywhere.”

Citing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a “landmark achievement in the history of human liberty,” he urged the world body to take renewed efforts to enforce it, a striking emphasis for a world leader accused by some international watchdog groups of violating human rights in waging war on terrorism.

As the second speaker to address the U.N. General Assembly, Bush urged the 192-nation body to work toward eradicating four pairs of ills: tyranny and violence, hunger and disease, illiteracy and ignorance, and poverty and despair.

Bush used the document to accuse countries such as Cuba, Myanmar, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Belarus of trampling on human rights while praising other countries for quelling unrest within their borders and realizing democratic changes.

On Sudan, however, he drew criticism from the president of the U.N. Foundation, Timothy Wirth, a former undersecretary for global affairs in the Clinton administration, who said the United States is in arrears on payments to the U.N. for peacekeeping missions in Darfur.

The president chose not to single out Iran, instead listing the country among several others led by “dictators.”

“In Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people fundamental rights enshrined in the universal declaration,” Bush said, quickly moving to express his dismay over the situation in Myanmar, where Buddhist monks have led a weeklong pro-democracy demonstration.

Bush used the podium to announce plans to tighten sanctions against the military government in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and slap a visa ban on those responsible for “egregious” human rights violations there.

Military rulers imposed a nighttime curfew and banned assemblies Tuesday after thousands of monks defied their warnings and mounted another day of protests to the cheers of crowds in Yangon.

“Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma, where a military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear,” Bush said. “Basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship are severely restricted. Ethnic minorities are persecuted.”

Without naming specific organizations, Bush took a swipe at “extremists” operating in the Middle East and Central Asia.

“Brave citizens in Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq have made the choice for democracy, yet the extremists have responded by targeting them for murder,” he said.

He also urged nations to help stem the tide of HIV/AIDS and malaria, both of which have ravaged many African countries, and highlighted U.S. aid efforts to reduce hunger and poverty in developing nations, and support efforts to educate women and girls.