20 August 2003
NATO, OSCE Condemn Attack on UN Office in Baghdad
Statements by NATO Deputy Secy.-Gen. Rizzo, OSCE Secy.-Gen. Kubis
The deputy Secretary-General of NATO, Minuto Rizzo, and the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Jan Kubis, have condemned the August 19 bomb attack in Baghdad that claimed the lives of at least 20 persons, including United Nations Special Representative and High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Following are their separate statements:
(begin text)
NATO Press Release
19 Aug. 2003
DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL OF NATO, AMBASSADOR MINUTO RIZZO, CONDEMNS ATTACK ON UN HEADQUARTERS IN BAGHDAD
Having learned of the bomb attack on the UN Headquarters today in Baghdad, Iraq, Ambassador Alessandro Minuto Rizzo said:
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms this cowardly attack on the offices of the United Nations in Baghdad. It is an act of barbarity aimed at an international institution working to assist the people of Iraq.
On behalf of NATO, I offer sincere sympathies to the relatives of international and local UN staff as well as Iraqis and others who suffered as a result of this tragic event".
(end NATO text)
(begin OSCE text)
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Secretariat
19 August 2003
OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL APPALLED BY ATTACK ON UN HEADQUARTERS IN BAGHDAD
VIENNA, 19 August 2003 - OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis expressed outrage on Tuesday over a bomb attack on United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad which caused numerous deaths and injuries.
"I am utterly appalled at this senseless and cowardly terrorist attack on people whose sole mission is to improve the lives of the people of Iraq," he said.
"Special Representative and High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello is a valued friend and colleague whom I have known for many years. My thoughts are with him and all the victims of this terrible crime."
Shortly after his appointment as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights last year, Mr de Mello addressed the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. He noted that the two organizations were guided "by the need for an effective struggle against those forces that attempt to subvert and destroy international and domestic security, while at the same time upholding the benchmarks of commonly held values."
(end text)
(Distributed by 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=20030820172356osnhojac0.9717523&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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