20 August 2003
United Nations "to Stay the Course" in Iraq
U.N. mission will continue despite attack, officials say
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Just five days before a truck bomb destroyed the headquarters of the U.N. mission in Iraq killing at least 16 people including the secretary general's special envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Security Council authorized the new U.N. operation, providing a firmer legislative basis for the critical humanitarian and political work already underway since May.
Within hours of the blast, the United Nations made clear that such vicious attacks would not shut down the U.N. mission nor deter the international organization from helping the people of Iraq.
"You have two strong political signals -- one from the council, one from the secretary general himself that we are going to stay the course," U.N. chief spokesman Fred Eckhard said August 19.
The Security Council issued a statement saying that "they will not be deterred by this action from the work that they set out to do in Iraq. And you also have the statement from the secretary general saying that the United nations will make every effort to achieve its objectives in Iraq," Eckhard pointed out.
"So that is a strong determination on our part to hang tough and to continue working at the job of restoring Iraq's sovereignty and helping the Iraqis on the humanitarian side," the spokesman said.
Eckhard said, nevertheless, that the United Nations has a responsibility to every government whose nationals are with the organization in Iraq to take into account safety threats. Thus, the U.N. will be reassessing the security situation in the coming days.
The spokesman pointed out, however, that the coalition forces have the primary responsibility for the protection of U.N. facilities in Iraq. Each country in which the United Nations has a mission, whether it is peacekeeping or humanitarian, is responsible for the security of U.N. personnel. In the case of Iraq, it is the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) who are the de facto occupying power, he said.
Under international law, security for the U.N. is the responsibility of the coalition. "And secondly, it is best handled by an international force rather than peacekeepers, given the security situation in the country," Eckhard said.
"We've been on record expressing concern about the overall security situation in Iraq from the beginning but at the same time we felt that the environment was safe enough for us to send a large U.N. contingent there to begin the humanitarian work and follow up on the political work as provided for in the Security Council resolution authorizing our presence there," he said.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was designed by Secretary General Kofi Annan to "assist the Iraqi people ... participate in and take ownership of the policies and priorities that will shape the future of their country" as well as provide humanitarian assistance.
In a written report to the Security Council July 17, the secretary general proposed the mission with a staff of over 300 civilians headed by his special representative and including a humanitarian coordinator, chief of staff, and offices for policy planning, political affairs, human rights, rule of law, legal affairs, and public information and media development.
Appointed as special envoy on May 27, Vieira de Mello was to leave Baghdad in September and return to his post as High Commissioner for Human Rights. The secretary general had been "actively considering his replacement," the U.N. spokesman said.
The first Security Council action authorizing a U.N. presence in Iraq was resolution 1483, adopted May 22, 2003, which stated the United Nations resolve that it "play a vital role in humanitarian relief, the reconstruction of Iraq, and the restoration and establishment of national and local institutions for representative governance ..."
In the resolution the Security Council asked the secretary general to appoint a special representative to coordinate U.N. activities in post-conflict processes in Iraq -- including the work of the U.N. and international agencies engaged in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction activities -- and work with the Coalition Provisional Authority.
In general terms the Security Council said that the U.N. also should be involved in aiding the return of refugees, promoting the protection of human rights, encouraging international efforts to promote legal and judicial reform, and working with the CPA and the people of Iraq to establish national and local government institutions. The council also directed that the oil-for-food humanitarian program be phased out by the end of November.
The secretary general followed up on the council's resolution with a report on the United Nations' first six weeks of work in Iraq and an initial assessment of the scope of the challenges involved. He outlined the areas in which he and Vieira de Mello thought the U.N. could play a useful role and proposed the 300-person U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) that would oversee delivering humanitarian assistance; help with the political process; help rehabilitate the courts and support a Judicial Training Center; establish an Iraqi media center; phase out the oil-for food program by November 21, 2003; help assess economic reconstruction and development projects; and assist the Iraqi interim administration rejoin the international community.
In his report Annan said that in discussions throughout Iraq over the past months, Vieira de Mello had emphasized that the goal of the United Nations was to support the right of the Iraqi people freely to determine their own political future and control their own natural resources. The special envoy "made clear the independence of his role and that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), not the United Nations, was responsible for administering Iraq, for providing for the welfare of the people, and for restoring conditions of security and stability," the secretary general said.
"While the international community can lend assistance to Iraq, it is ultimately the people of Iraq who must build their own future," Annan said. "I welcome the recent establishment of the Governing Council. It will provide a broadly representative Iraqi partner with whom the United Nations and the international community at large can engage."
On July 22, Vieira de Mello accompanied three representatives of the new 25-member Iraqi Governing Council to meet with the Security Council in New York.
In his remarks to the council, Vieira de Mello said that "we have reason to be optimistic for the future of Iraq, but we have little margin for error."
"The situation remains fragile. Iraqis know best how and where to tread in their own country and at what pace. Our greatest utility will be in following their lead and, when necessary assisting them in achieving consensus among themselves," he said.
Vieira de Mello said there needs to be a "clear timetable with milestones" for the earliest possible restoration of Iraqi sovereignty.
"Iraqis need to know that the current state of affairs will come to an end soon," Vieira de Mello said. "They need to know that stability will return and that the occupation will end. Their legitimate impatience must be accommodated."
On August 14, the Security Council adopted resolution 1500 officially establishing the "United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq to support the secretary general in the fulfillment of his mandate ... and responsibilities" for an initial period of 12 months.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=August&x=20030820135430ifas0.4663202&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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