Top UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello killed in terrorist blast in Baghdad

The top United Nations envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was killed today when terrorists blew up the UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing at least 14 others and injuring dozens more in what Secretary-General Kofi Annan denounced as an inexcusable "act of unprovoked and murderous violence."

Mr. Vieira de Mello, a 30-year veteran of many UN peacekeeping operations from the Balkans to East Timor to Africa, had been trapped in the rubble of the devastated Canal Hotel, which served as UN headquarters in the Iraqi capital. He was 55 and was UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. He made the establishment of full human rights a major part of his mission to Iraq ever since he arrived at the beginning of June as Mr. Annan’s Special Representative and insisted that full sovereignty should be restored to the Iraqi people as soon as possible following the occupation of the country by the United States and its allies.

Mr. Vieira de Mello only took his Iraqi mission as a short-term four-month assignment, so important did he and the Secretary-General consider the global fight for human rights and the urgency of his return to his post as High Commissioner. He 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.

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard told a briefing at UN Headquarters that as of noon New York time 14 people had been reported killed and dozens injured, many of them seriously, including both Iraqis and international staff, more than three hours after the attack which occurred at 4:45 p.m. Baghdad time. Rescuers from the United States forces had worked to extricate Mr. Vieira de Mello from the ruined building, which served as a base for some 300 UN personnel in Baghdad out of the 646 in Iraq altogether.