Top UN envoy in Iraq meets with US, British civilian chiefs

The top United Nations official in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, met with his counterparts from the United Kingdom and United States today to discuss the world body’s role in the country’s reconstruction.

Mr. Vieira de Mello, Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative, described the meeting with US Civilian Administrator L. Paul Bremer and British Special Representative John Sawers as “very cordial and constructive.” He also told reporters he would spend his first few days in Baghdad defining precisely what the nature of the UN role would be in accordance with the Security Council’s resolution that established his post.

Mr. Bremer said the UN had a vital role to play and he was looking forward to working closely with Mr. Vieira de Mello and his team on implementing the Council’s resolution.

The resolution includes among the Special Representative’s duties "working intensively with the Authority, the people of Iraq, and others concerned to advance efforts to restore and establish national and local institutions for representative governance, including by working together to facilitate a process leading to an internationally recognized, representative government of Iraq."

Asked at UN Headquarters in New York whether he was pushing for a special time frame for setting up a representative Iraqi government, Mr. Annan told reporters: “This is an issue that he (Mr. Vieira de Mello) will take as one of the first topics with the coalition authority and of course he is also going to talk to as many Iraqi groups as possible.” When the Iraqi government is formed and at what point sovereignty passes over to them is a “very sensitive” issue, Mr. Annan said, declining to be more specific.

During the meeting, just a day after Mr. Vieira de Mello’s arrival, Mr. Bremer and Mr. Sawers explained the coalition’s priorities during the current phase, namely: re-establishing law and order, re-connecting basic services, and rejuvenating civil society; working on improving the economic situation; and moving towards creating a democratic, representative government in Iraq.

Mr. Vieira de Mello also visited the offices of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

In the humanitarian field, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers has sent a Special Envoy for Iraq to assist in the voluntary return of refugees, the return and reintegration programmes for internally displaced persons and the protection of Iraq's existing refugee communities and stateless persons.

Dennis McNamara, currently UNHCR's Inspector General, travelled to Baghdad on Sunday and will work under Mr. Vieira de Mello’s leadership.