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| Thursday, 19 August 2004 |
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UN remembers fallen colleagues in Baghdad August 19 marks the first anniversary of the bomb attack on UN Headquarters in Baghdad which killed 22 people including the Secretary General's Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Since its inception UN has been subjected to violence and intimidation on numerous occasions but the attack on the Canal Hotel where the UN Headquarters in Iraq was located is the most devastating so far. Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian diplomat had served the United Nations for 33 years holding several responsible positions. At the time of his death, he was also the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. He spent the majority of his career working for the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees office in Geneva and served in Bangladesh, Sudan, Cyprus, Mozambique, Peru and Yugoslavia. Later he served as the Humanitarian Coordinator in Rwands and Special Representative for Kosovo. Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan in a message on the first anniversary of the attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad while paying a glowing tribute to those who died on that fateful day raises the question "how to strike a balance between the need for openness on the part of the UN and security in today's world." 'What happened in Baghdad a year ago today was a personal tragedy - above all for the families and loved ones of the 22 people who died and those who suffered severe injuries, be they physical, psychological or emotional. It was also a personal tragedy for each and every one of us, because of the dear friends and close colleagues we lost, and because of the direct attack against the blue flag and we who have devoted our lives to the United Nations. All of us have struggled and are still struggling to absorb that shock.' The UN family is no stranger to violence and intimidation, and we have mourned the loss of hundreds of colleagues over the years. But the attack on the Canal Hotel brought us face to face with danger in a new and more intimidating form - the danger that we, servants of the United Nations, may have become one of the main targets of political violence. We are now wrestling with wrenching, fundamental questions. Our work is with people.' On this sad anniversary let us pay tribute to the victims and let us express our sympathy and solidarity with all the bereaved," the Secretary General said in his message. |
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