CAIRO: The United Nations Information Center (Unic) in Cairo commemorated Monday the fourth anniversary of the attack on the UN building in Baghdad where 22 staff members were killed, including Egyptians Nadia Younis and Jean-Pierre Kanaan.
“The UN was targeted for being the UN, Unic Director Maher Nasser told Daily News Egypt, and the attack “led to the withdrawal of all international staff from Iraq in the immediate aftermath.
Fouad Younis, brother of UN victim Nadia Younis, attended the event, and a minute of silence was observed for all those who lost their lives.
Asked about the lessons gleaned from the tragedy, Nasser said, “Immediately after the explosion, there were many lessons taken on board in terms of security and safety of our staff.
“It led to the establishment of the Department of Safety and Security led by the under-secretary of the UN with greater resources. There was also a revision of a variety of procedures. At the time the UN investigation led to certain actions such as the dismissal of some of the staff, he added.
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt James Rawley read a statement at the event on behalf of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon: “We have lost colleagues before in the line of duty, he said, “But this was the first time the United Nations was deliberately targeted on such a massive scale. The bomb detonated at our Baghdad headquarters robbed us of our best and brightest and injured many more, but it also shattered any illusion that the UN’s ideals and impartiality permitted us to operate above the fray in Iraq.
Indeed Nasser pointed out that the 2003 bombing is “still affecting our mission in Iraq. Most of our staff is in Amman and Kuwait, although he did also mention that the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (Unami) mandate had been renewed and the staff in Iraq had been increased to 95.
“We have to implement our mandate but we also have to work with the security constraints, he said.
This was echoed in Ki-moon’s statement.
“I understand the fears and concerns some staff may have about any expansion. That is why I affirm to you today that any such measure remains strictly subject to conditions on the ground – your safety is and always will be a paramount concern.
On Aug. 19, 2003 a truck bomb exploded into the UN headquarters in Baghdad killing the special representative in Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others. Many were trapped under the rubble for hours before their bodies were exhumed. It was one of the worst attacks against UN personnel in the history of the organization.
“It s the first to my recollection, that an attack on UN headquarters had grievously injured the special representative, members of his staff, other UN employees in the building, certainly on this scale, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said at the time.
“The bombers shook us to the very core, yet they could not shake our ideals: our values, our commitment, our resolve; these are all unchanged, Ki-moon’s statement said, “today, those very ideals, that same resolve, guide our work for peace, whether in Darfur or Dili, in Beirut or Baghdad. This work is our ultimate and lasting tribute to our fallen friends. It is how we honor their memory every day, wherever a blue flag flies.
