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UN envoy to Iraq to be named ‘shortly’ – Annan

UN envoy to Iraq to be named ‘shortly’ – Annan

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Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said he plans to name a new United Nations envoy to Iraq within a week.

The last Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was among 22 people killed in a terrorist attack last August on the UN's Baghdad office. The UN eventually withdrew international personnel from Iraq and based its operations in Jordan.

At a press conference today in New York, the Secretary-General said the UN has continued its work on behalf of the Iraqi people, including by helping to set up the transitional administration.

"Over and above our efforts in the electoral area and eventually in the constitutional area, those [UN staff] in Amman are operating within Iraq through the local staff and contractors," he said, citing the efforts of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), which is implementing a $2 million project on the ground.

"We are doing whatever we can from Amman and, where necessary, we do cross-border trips," he added.

The aim, he explained, is to find creative ways to assist the Iraqi people without over-exposing UN personnel to risk.

The Secretary-General also emphasized the crucial political work underway. "Quite frankly, if we are going to resolve the conflict in Iraq, it's through political reconciliation, it's through political work, it's through inclusive, participatory elections and the national conference which will be held next month," he said.

Force alone would not resolve the conflict, he stressed. "You have to go the political route, so please do not underestimate efforts to get the political process going and to get the Iraqis engaged in talking to each other democratically."

"In the long-run, that is going to make much more difference than any force you can put in," he said.