Annan Takes Strong Disciplinary Measures After Probe Reveals Security Failures In Iraq
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced a series of disciplinary measures, including calls for the resignation of
senior UN officials, following the release of a critical report by a panel that identified institutional and individual
failures in assessing the security situation in Baghdad prior to the terrorist attack last August that killed 22 people,
including the UN's top envoy in Iraq.
The official in charge of overall staff security, Security Coordinator Tun Myat, was asked to resign from the United
Nations, while Ramiro Lopes da Silva, his proxy on the ground in Iraq, known as the Designated Official, was asked to
immediately step down from his current post as an Assistant Secretary-General in the United Nations and return to his
senior post in the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
Future assignments for Mr. Lopes da Silva, who also served as the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, will no longer
include any responsibilities for security matters, a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in making the announcements on the
disciplinary measures.
The Secretary-General established the Security in Iraq Accountability Panel late last year to carry out an independent
probe into the responsibilities of all individuals and UN entities involved in the security of the UN operation in Iraq,
which might have prevented or mitigated the effect of the 19 August attack, or diminished the loss of life and injury to
UN personnel. The panel focused in particular on the actions or omissions of the UN headquarters in Baghdad and its
staff.
The blast destroyed the UN offices at the Canal Hotel, killing 22 people, including Mr. Annan's top envoy, Sergio Vieira
de Mello, and injuring more than 100 others. A second, smaller attack in September prompted the Secretary-General to
eventually withdraw all international UN personnel.
The recommendation to return the UN to the country was ultimately made by the Steering Group on Iraq (SGI) - a
high-level body composed of senior UN officials and the heads of UN entities operating in Iraq that provided policy
advice to the Secretary-General. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette, who chaired the SGI, tendered her
resignation to Mr. Annan after the panel's findings were made known.
Mr. Annan declined to accept it, spokesman Fred Eckhard said, "taking into account the collective nature of the failures
attributable" to the SGI as a whole. A letter addressed to Ms. Fréchette, in her capacity as SGI Chair, and shared with
all members of the Steering Group, "expressed the Secretary-General's disappointment and regret with regard to the
failures identified by the panel which are attributable to the SGI," the spokesman said.
A letter has also been sent to each head of a UN fund or programme that had staff in Iraq from the date of the UN's
return to the country on 1 May to 19 August, critical of their management and lack of respect for staff ceilings and
security clearances applicable in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq (UNOCHI) and the
Building Manager of UNOCHI were each charged with misconduct and their cases referred to the UN personnel management
office to initiate disciplinary proceedings against them.
The Secretary-General also immediately reassigned the Field Security Coordination Officer from the office of the UN
Security Coordinator to an appropriate post not involving any functions related to security matters, Mr. Eckhard said.
In addition, a letter of reprimand has been sent to the Security Management Team in Iraq, an advisory body to Mr. Lopes
da Silva.
"The Secretary-General regretted the failures identified by the Panel and expressed his determination to take all
corrective measures, within his authority, to enhance the safety and security of all UN staff, especially those deployed
in dangerous conflict areas," Mr. Eckhard said.
Mr. Annan also paid tribute to the staff who lost their lives or were injured in the 19 August attack, the spokesman
said, and "renewed his confidence in the staff of the Organization for their devoted service and unflinching dedication
to the United Nations."