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De Mello: U.N.'s Iraq envoy
UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said protecting the Iraqi people was his main priority when he took the job. Vieira de Mello, 55, was killed in Tuesday's bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. Although he managed to make a phone call from the ruins of the building, he later died. Vieira de Mello had been a diplomatic troubleshooter in hotspots around the world, having been appointed the U.N. special representative to Iraq in late May in what was to be a four-month assignment. A month after he was appointed, Vieira de Mello said the United Nations found itself in a "bizarre situation" in Iraq, playing second fiddle to two of its own member countries -- the United States and Britain. Vieira de Mello had said the top of his agenda was to consult Iraqi leaders and opinion makers "to make sure that the interests of the Iraqi people come first" in rebuilding their country. The U.N. role in postwar Iraq was a major issue during the intense Security Council negotiations on a resolution lifting sanctions and authorizing the United States and Britain to administer the country until a democratic government is established. Under pressure from France, Russia and Germany -- which opposed the war -- the secretary-general's special representative was given "independent responsibilities" but at the same time told to work "intensively" with the United States, Britain and Iraqi officials in reconstruction and setting up a new administration. The U.N. distributes humanitarian aid and is developing programs aimed at boosting Iraq's emerging free press, justice system and monitoring of human rights. The United States failed to win the backing of the U.N. Security Council before it invaded Iraq on March 20, and since major fighting ended in April, the coalition has been reluctant to allow the United Nations to play a large role. Vieira de Mello joined the U.N. High Commission for Refugees in 1969, serving in Bangladesh in 1971, when it became independent. He also dealt with refugees in Cyprus after the 1974 Turkish invasion. He spent three years in charge of UNHCR operations in Mozambique during the civil war that followed independence from Portugal in 1975, and three more in military-ruled Peru. He became senior political adviser to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon between 1981 and 1983, covering the period when Israel invaded. In the early 1990s, he was in Cambodia and then in disintegrating Yugoslavia. In 1996, he was made assistant high commissioner for refugees. Two years later, he moved to New York to become undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs soon after Kofi Annan became secretary-general. He later became a special U.N. envoy in Kosovo following the U.S.-led bombing raids that broke Serbian control of the province in 1999. He gained widespread praise for overseeing East Timor's three-year transition to independence after Indonesia withdrew in 1999. In September 2002, he was appointed U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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