07 April 2003
U.N. Secretary General Names Special Adviser on Post-Conflict Iraq
(Former Pakistani diplomat/U.N. official to work on Iraq issues) (640) By Judy Aita Washington File U.N. Correspondent United Nations -- Calling the 15-member Security Council to his private offices for a meeting on Iraq, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan April 7 announced the appointment of a special adviser to work on the role of the United Nations in a post-conflict Iraq. "U.N. involvement does bring legitimacy which is necessary, necessary for the country, for the region and for the peoples around the world," the secretary general told journalists before the meeting. The secretary general appointed Rafeeuddin Ahmed as his special adviser on post-conflict Iraq. Ahmed's role, the secretary general said, will be "thinking about what is likely to happen and what the likely U.N. role will be and also to be available to council members and all the members involved to exchange ideas and then give me some advice." "Given the pace of events in Iraq and the widespread discussions on a potential role for the United Nations in postwar Iraq, Mr. Ahmed will now act as the focal point in the U.N. system for discussions on the various scenarios for such a role. He will also be advising the secretary general on any role that the Security Council might eventually mandate for the United Nations system to carry out once the current military campaign has come to an end," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said. The secretary general will also spend the remainder of the week visiting Paris, Moscow, Berlin, and London to discuss Iraq and the U.N.'s role with the leaders of those nations, the spokesman announced. The secretary general will not be naming a special representative to Iraq as is the case in Afghanistan unless the Security Council mandates such a position, Eckhard also said. The announcement of Ahmed's role as special adviser "merely provides the U.N. system with a focal point." The April 7 meeting was the United Nations' "first official discussion with governments of a possible U.N. role," the spokesman pointed out. The secretary general did not make any formal proposals, instead leaving it up to the Security Council to decide what the U.N. role would be. "I do expect the U.N. to play an important role -- and the U.N. has had a good experience in this area whether it is the issue of political facilitation leading to the emergence of a new or interim administration," Annan said. "We have done quite a bit of work on reconstruction, working with donor countries and with other agencies." Specifically citing human rights and rule of law, the secretary general said that "there are lots of areas where the U.N. can play a role." "Iraqis have to be responsible for their political future, and to control their own natural resources, and whatever one can do to help the emergence of a new leadership or a new situation is what one should focus on," he said. Ahmed had been working on the Iraq issue informally for the secretary general since February. A former Pakistani diplomat, Ahmed is currently special representative of the World Tourism Organization to the United Nations and a special adviser to the executive director of the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). He had been an undersecretary general and chef de cabinet to Annan. Among the long list of other assignments for Ahmed since he joined the United Nations in 1970: undersecretary general for political affairs, trusteeship and decolonization; undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs in South-East Asia; special representative for Cambodia; special representative for East Timor; and special representative for the Laos-Thailand conflict. He was principal aide to Secretary General Kurt Waldheim for the Iran hostage crisis. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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