General Assembly Session 57 meeting 94

The President

Before proceeding to the items on our agenda, I should like to draw the attention of the General Assembly to documents A/57/840/Add.1 and Add.2, in which the Secretary-General informs the President of the General Assembly that, since the issuance of his communication contained in document A/57/840, Djibouti and Kyrgyzstan have made the necessary payments to reduce their arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter.

May I take it that the General Assembly duly takes note of the information contained in those documents?

The President

In connection with this item, the General Assembly has before it a revised draft resolution entitled "Condemnation of the attack on United Nations personnel and premises in Baghdad", which as been issued as document A/57/L.83/Rev.1.

I have the honour to introduce to Member States draft resolution A/57/L.83/Rev.1, condemning the attack on United Nations personnel and premises in Baghdad, Iraq, on 19 August 2003. That was the first time in the history of the United Nations system, with its many field offices around the world, that a deliberate attack on such a large scale was perpetrated against the Organization, taking 22 lives -- of which 15 were United Nations personnel -- and wounding another 100 innocent persons. It was an act of senseless violence against people serving the cause of peace and security and providing humanitarian assistance. The loss of High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, has deprived the United Nations of one of its most illustrious and experienced staff members. We the General Assembly members, representing the global humanity, need to formally express our horror and distress at such unwarranted acts of destruction and resolve together to intensify our efforts to act against terrorism.

In that spirit, I also wish to introduce the revision to the original draft resolution, to reaffirm that the United Nations will continue to provide assistance to the Iraqi people and to help build peace and justice. Members of the Assembly may observe that the text of that revision is similar to the text of the last paragraph of the statement made by the President of the Security Council on 20 August 2003, which is contained in document S/PRST/2003/13. A copy of that statement is attached to document A/57/L.83/Rev.1, for ease of reference.

I understand that there are no speakers before the adoption of the draft resolution. We shall therefore now proceed to consider draft resolution A/57/L.83/Rev.1.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/57/L.83/Rev.1, entitled "Condemnation of the attack on United Nations personnel and premises in Baghdad".

May I take it that the General Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/57/L.83/Rev.1?

Mr. Wigwe (Nigeria)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the African Group in my capacity as the Group's Chairman this month.

Africa reaffirms its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism. We pledge our cooperation with other members of the international community, through bilateral and multilateral efforts, to combat that menace in all its forms.

We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack on United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, which claimed the lives of 15 United Nations staff members, including Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq. We salute the courage and dedication of those international civil servants, who have paid the highest price in their service to humanity.

We reaffirm our support for Security Council resolution 1502 (2003), on the protection of civilians, United Nations personnel and humanitarian personnel in conflict zones.

Africa supports the resolution entitled "Condemnation of the attack on United Nations personnel and premises in Baghdad".

Finally, may I take this opportunity to congratulate the President on the successful completion of, and the efficient way he has conducted, the proceedings of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

Mr. Wang Guangya (China)

Mr. President, at the outset, please allow me, on behalf of all members of the Asian Group, to express our appreciation and gratitude for your excellent guidance of the current session of the General Assembly.

The members of the Asian Group are gravely concerned about the situation in Iraq. We express our deep shock at the attack on the United Nations office in Baghdad, and we strongly condemn that terrorist violence against United Nations personnel. We express our heartfelt condolences and our deep sorrow to the families of the victims.

It is particularly painful for us that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, perished in that attack. His departure is undoubtedly a huge loss to the United Nations. However, his dedication, his courage and his pursuit of peace and justice will be remembered by the people of the world forever.

Swift restoration of peace and stability and pursuit of the path of reconstruction and development in Iraq are the universal hope of the Asian Group and of the entire international community. The terrorist attack on the United Nations office in Iraq demonstrated once again that the rebuilding of Iraq still faces serious challenges; it will not succeed without broad participation and close cooperation on the part of the international community.

We firmly believe that the process of independence, stability and development in Iraq will not end as a result of this attack. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq will not end, either. Members of the Asian Group wish to join the international community in continuing to support the United Nations as it plays its important role in the matter of Iraq to help the Iraqi people quickly restore stability and development in that country.

Mr. Jegermanis (Latvia)

Latvia, as Chair of the Eastern European Group, has the honour to make the following statement on behalf of our delegations.

We should like to draw your attention, Mr. President, to the fact that Russia earlier submitted its amendment to the draft resolution (A/57/L.83/Rev.1) that you presented. We fully support the adoption of that resolution, entitled "Condemnation of the attack on United Nations personnel and premises in Baghdad". Likewise, we stand behind Security Council resolution 1502 (2003).

We were shocked to learn of the attack against United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August, which resulted in numerous human casualties, among whom, to our deepest regret, was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, the great Brazilian diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello. That indiscriminate terrorist attack on United Nations staff who are working hard to bring needed help to Iraq should be regarded as an attack against the whole United Nations system and against humanitarian values and principles.

On that day, we learned once again that terrorism knows no borders and that terrorists have no purpose but destruction and extermination. The presence of the United Nations anywhere has always been regarded as a symbol and a guarantee of universal human values. Undoubtedly, this attack was a cynical challenge to the international community and must not go without a just response.

Our countries, like the whole civilized world, condemn this manifestation of international terrorism and believe that the perpetrators of this crime were trying to ruin the process of Iraq's political and economic stabilization and to prevent the nation of Iraq from creating a peaceful, stable and prosperous country. The latest developments -- the attacks against the Jordanian embassy and the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, and the assassination of leading Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Mohamed Baqer al-Hakim in the holy city of Najaf -- make it obvious that Iraq is turning into one of the main battlefields of the international community in its fight against terrorism.

We are convinced that the painful strike that the United Nations endured will not stop us from achieving post-war stabilization in Iraq and the return of that country to the international family of nations.

Mr. Giraldo (Colombia)

I have the honour to address the General Assembly on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group to express our support for the draft resolution (A/57/L.83/Rev.1) presented by the President of the General Assembly, condemning the attack against United Nations staff at its headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003. As we join in the strong condemnation of that terrorist attack against the United Nations and the ideals that the Organization defends throughout the world, we wish to express our most heartfelt condolences to the United Nations, to the Secretary-General and to the families and friends of the United Nations staff who lost their lives in this cowardly attack. We also wish to express our solidarity with the more than 100 persons who were injured.

For the Latin American and Caribbean Group, this tragedy holds a profound meaning, since we have lost the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, a distinguished Brazilian diplomat who, throughout his successful career in the service of the United Nations and its Member States, demonstrated outstanding professional and personal qualities that promised a great future in the Organization. As the Secretary-General has said, Mr. Vieira de Mello's premature death is an irreplaceable loss to the Organization. We also support the United Nations in its endeavour to continue to work to consolidate peace and justice in Iraq.

In addition to thanking you, Mr. President, for the wise way in which you have guided the General Assembly, we want to express once again our deepest sorrow as well as our most resolute support for the draft resolution that you presented. We wish to join the urgent appeal made in the resolution to intensify international cooperation to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of this repugnant terrorist act.