In Memoriam: Baghdad, 19 August 2003
A terrorist attack on the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad, on 19 August 2003, claimed the lives of 22 people. Among those killed was the top United Nations envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mr. Vieira de Mello had a long and distinguished UN career stretching over 30 years. Before being appointed to the human rights post in 2002, he was the UN Transitional Administrator in East Timor, and prior to that briefly held the position of Special Representative for Kosovo. He had extensive Headquarters, and field experience in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, including in Bangladesh, Sudan, Cyprus, Mozambique, Peru and Lebanon. The attack devastated the Canal Hotel, which served as a base for some 300 international UN personnel in Baghdad out of the 646 in Iraq altogether.
Workers and soldiers search through the rubble of UN
Headquarters, Baghdad, after the explosion. (UN Photo)
by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at memorial service held 19 September 2003.