Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=12/15/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=UN / IRAQ STAFF (L-UPDATE)

NUMBER=2-321178

BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN

DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS

CONTENT=

/// UPDATES CR 2-321174 TO ADD U.S. AMBASSADOR REACTION ///

HEADLINE: UN To Open Two New Offices in Iraq

INTRO: The United Nations is preparing to open two new offices in Iraq before next month's elections. VOA's Peter Heinlein at U.N. headquarters reports the announcement came days after Iraqi officials criticized the world body's low level of involvement in the country's democratic transition.

TEXT: Secretary-General Kofi Annan has taken the first steps toward boosting U.N. staff levels in Iraq, including establishment of offices in the cities of Basra and Erbil. At present, the maximum number of foreign U.N. personnel in Iraq is set at 59, all of them based in Baghdad.

Secretary-General Annan ordered all staff out of the country after last year's terrorist attacks on the Baghdad headquarters. He has been cautious in reintroducing foreign workers, despite a Security Council resolution calling on the world body to take on a leading role in Iraq.

Iraqi Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie complained to the Security Council this week that lack of U.N. help was hampering preparations for January 30th elections. But in announcing the intention to expand the U.N. presence, spokesman Fred Eckhard suggested that caution would continue to be the watchword.

/// ECKHARD ACT ///

"Let's take this a step at a time. We'll see if we can safely expand to the two other cities. If the situation continues to be tolerable, the secretary general would always have the option to send in more people."

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Spokesman Eckhard said the staff ceiling would be raised from the present 59 to about 200 to accommodate 150 Fijian troops who are being deployed to provide personal protection for U.N. personnel. But he indicated the number of election workers would be increased only marginally, from about 20 to 25.

The United States has consistently pushed the world body to take a more prominent role in Iraq's transition to democracy. After meeting Secretary-General Annan Wednesday, Washington's U.N. ambassador John Danforth called the increase a "step in the right direction," but said the United States would push for more.

/// DANFORTH ACT ///

"I think that the U.N. understands the importance of the election, understands the importance of UN support for the election, and feels that that support is going to be forthcoming. I don't have an independent view on what the numbers should be, but we feel the increased presence of the United Nations in Iraq is important."

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Secretary-General Annan is expected to have further talks on the level of U.N. involvement in Iraq Thursday when he travels to Washington for talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell and his designated successor, Condoleeza Rice. (Signed)

NEB/PFH/KL/RH