Centre Europe - Tiers Monde (CETIM)

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Cette conviction, qui a présidé à la fondation du CETIM en 1970, questionne l'a priori positif généralement attribué au modèle de développement occidental.(...).
Link,http://www.cetim.ch/fr/cetim.php, consultado a 28 de Setembro de 2006.

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Link,http://www.rinoceros.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=7&lang=en, consultado a 28 de Setembro de 2006.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Online Resources In addition to presenting more than 3,500 objects from its collection and its Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers two research opportunities directly on this website. Watsonline is the online catalogue for the Museum's libraries. The Lita Annenberg Hazen and Joseph H. Hazen Center for Electronic Information Resources provides a number of services both online and at its physical location in Thomas J. Watson Library, including an index of general and specialized Internet links. (...)."
Link,http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp, consultado a 20 de Setembro de 2006.

Apenas os Estados podem fazer funcionar a ONU | Sergio Vieira de Mello

(em Português)
Autor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, Alto Comissário da ONU para os Direitos Humanos 2002-2003.Publicado no “O Estado de S. Paulo” no dia 1 de Junho de 2003.
Em Nota - Sergio Vieira de Mello iniciou a sua missão no Iraque a 2 de Junho de 2003.

" A preponderância militar dos Estados Unidos e da Grã-Bretanha não deve levar-nos a pensar que a estabilidade internacional pode ser assegurada pela força. Se quisermos que o sistema internacional se baseie em algo mais do que a força ou o poder, os Estados terão de regressar à instituição que criaram: as Nações Unidas. Essa instituição enfrenta uma crise grave, pelo que ou se encontram maneiras de a resolver ou se têm de suportar pesadas consequências. Os debates sobre o Iraque, tanto antes da guerra como agora, demonstraram que as grandes potências foram incapazes de comunicar entre elas utilizando uma linguagem comum. E isto tem sido mais flagrante no seio das instituições globais. Desde a criação da ONU, o Conselho de Segurança foi responsável pela segurança e a Comissão de Direitos Humanos foi encarregada da protecção dos direitos humanos. Todavia, no caso do Iraque, o Conselho foi, e aparentemente continua a ser, incapaz de chegar a acordo sobre a segurança e o papel da ONU. Do mesmo modo, a Comissão de Direitos Humanos, cuja sessão anual terminou na sexta-feira, demonstrou a sua incapacidade de discutir os direitos humanos. Será que existe uma maneira de renovar, ou de reinventar, uma linguagem comum, que nos permita sair do impasse actual? Julgo que existe, desde que mudemos radicalmente a relação entre segurança e direitos humanos. No Conselho de Segurança, os debates incidiram sobre as armas de destruição maciça, uma questão clássica que lhe é muito familiar, desde a sua criação. Mas os seus membros não puderam, ou não quiseram, imaginar que o seu mandato ultrapassasse essa visão estreita. O Conselho não abordou as numerosas questões de evidente interesse para os seus membros, como a ausência de democracia no Iraque e as frequentes campanhas de terror contra os opositores políticos, reais ou imaginários, levadas a cabo pelo governo de então. Também não conseguiu abordar um assunto mais vasto: como lidar com os perigos graves para a paz e a segurança internacionais que representava um regime que violava de forma flagrante os direitos humanos dos seus cidadãos e que, levado pela tendência da brutalidade para ultrapassar fronteiras, chegara a atacar os seus vizinhos. No final, os principais participantes no debate deram a impressão de estar a falar de uma coisa, enquanto tinham outra em mente. Talvez os membros do Conselho de Segurança tenham entendido que era mais lógico discutir as questões de direitos humanos no âmbito da Comissão de Direitos Humanos. Mas nesta última sessão, muitos dos 53 Estados representados na Comissão sustentaram que não lhes competia debruçar-se sobre o Iraque, uma vez que o Conselho já se ocupava do problema. Outros defenderem que as questões ligadas ao Iraque tinham mais que ver com segurança do que com direitos humanos e, portanto, eram da responsabilidade do Conselho. Outros ainda sustentaram que o problema dos direitos humanos no Iraque era fundamentalmente uma questão de guerra – dado o elevado número de baixas civis – e não de violações desses direitos cometidas antes dela, no país. Mas, fosse qual fosse o argumento invocado, o desejo manifesto da maior parte dos Estados, tanto aqui, em Genebra, como em Nova Iorque, foi evitar iniciar uma discussão sobre os direitos humanos no Iraque. Durante as semanas que precederam a guerra no Iraque, falei com muitos dos principais actores nos debates do Conselho de Segurança. É óbvio, mas talvez valha a pena recordá-lo aqui, que nenhum deles expressou a menor animosidade contra a ONU; nenhum desejava que o Conselho de Segurança falhasse na tentativa de chegar a um consenso sobre o Iraque. O que não conseguiram foi encontrar uma maneira de abordar o problema – de o enquadrar politicamente – para alcançar um consenso. O impasse na Comissão de Direitos Humanos foi semelhante, talvez ainda mais grave. O que faltou a ambos os órgãos foi uma maneira de conceptualizar a segurança em termos de direitos humanos e de reconhecer que as violações flagrantes e sistemáticas dos direitos humanos se encontram, com frequência, no cerne da insegurança interna e internacional. O problema não é novo. Basta examinar a lista dos fracassos mais recentes das Nações Unidas, como a sua incapacidade de impedir o genocídio no Ruanda e o massacre de Srebrenica. O que têm esses fracassos em comum? Nos dois casos, tratou-se de situações de emergência, seguidas de horríveis carnificinas, cuja natureza não se enquadrava nos esquemas conceptuais do Conselho de Segurança nem da Comissão de Direitos Humanos. Não constituíam ameaças à segurança internacional no sentido reconhecido convencionalmente e compreendido pelo Conselho; e a Comissão de Direitos Humanos também não conseguiu ter a menor influência no desenrolar implacável dos acontecimentos. Foi esse o maior fracasso da nossa época: a impossibilidade de compreender a ameaça que as violações flagrantes e sistemáticas dos direitos humanos representavam para a segurança e a incapacidade de alcançar qualquer consenso sobre a maneira de responder a esse tipo de risco. E, agora que as vítimas no Iraque se contam aos milhares, não podemos deixar de constatar que o preço do nosso fracasso, que já era tragicamente elevado, está a aumentar. Devemos virar-nos para os Estados Membros das Nações Unidas, especialmente para os que são membros do Conselho de Segurança – sobretudo a China, os Estados Unidos, a França, o Reino Unido e a Rússia – para que eles se interroguem sobre esse fracasso e tentem superá-lo com base nas suas responsabilidades e não nas suas rivalidades. Criticar as Nações Unidas por não terem conseguido alcançar um consenso sobre o Iraque é passar ao lado do problema. Quando os Estados Membros ignoram as suas próprias regras de jogo ou desmantelam a sua própria arquitectura política colectiva, é injusto culpar a ONU ou o seu Secretário-Geral, cujos bons ofícios não são solicitados tão frequentemente quanto seria de desejar. Kofi Annan tem defendido incansavelmente o consenso sobre estas questões vitais, mas não pode impor esse consenso. Tal como eu não estou em posição de exercer a menor pressão sobre a Comissão, cujos mandatos são executados pelo meu Gabinete mas sobre a qual não tenho o menor poder de decisão ou de controlo. Em ambos os casos, o poder está – e muito bem – nas mãos dos Estados Membros e só deles. É a eles que compete encontrar uma maneira de o exercer, colocando os direitos humanos no cerne do conceito de segurança interna e internacional. Os Estados Membros das Nações Unidas têm uma oportunidade única. Pelas suas acções recentes, revelaram uma vez mais as deficiências da instituição que criaram, ao mesmo tempo que salientaram algumas das suas qualidades. Todos os Estados, em particular os membros do Conselho de Segurança, deviam aproveitar esta oportunidade para se debruçar seriamente sobre as suas relações e para ponderar maneiras de empreender uma reforma. As definições da segurança pouco adaptadas às realidades contemporâneas revelaram a sua inutilidade, na crise que acaba de atingir o mundo. Hoje em dia, é a população iraquiana, que já sofre há tanto tempo, que suporta as consequências, primeiro, da guerra, e, agora, de uma paz contestada e controversa. Não pode deixar de ser evidente que chegou a altura de todos os Estados redefinirem a segurança global, colocando os direitos humanos no centro deste debate. Para isso, cada nação deve exercer as suas responsabilidades de uma maneira proporcional aos seus meios. Só então os Estados responsáveis – e não aqueles que são meramente mais fortes – serão capazes de oferecer uma estabilidade duradoura ao nosso mundo".

(em Espanhol)
Redefinir la seguridad
Texto de Sergio Vieira de Mello, Alto Comisario de Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos. Traducción de News Clips. Publiacado em EL PAÍS Opinión - 24-04-2003.

"La preponderancia militar de Estados Unidos y Gran Bretaña no debe inducirnos a pensar que la estabilidad internacional pueda garantizarse por la fuerza. Si el sistema internacional quiere basarse en algo distinto al poder, los Estados tendrán que volver a la institución que construyeron: Naciones Unidas. Esta institución se enfrenta a una grave crisis. Debemos encontrar formas de resolverla o afrontar consecuencias terribles. Los debates acerca de Irak antes de la guerra y ahora en el período subsiguiente han demostrado que las potencias del mundo son incapaces de hablar entre sí en un lenguaje común. Esto se ha visto de la manera más dramática en las instituciones globales. Desde el principio de Naciones Unidas, el Consejo de Seguridad ha sido responsable de la seguridad, y la Comisión de Derechos Humanos ha aspirado a proteger los derechos humanos.
Sin embargo, en el caso de Irak, el Consejo ha sido, y al parecer sigue siendo, incapaz de ponerse de acuerdo acerca de la seguridad y del papel de Naciones Unidas. De modo similar, la Comisión de Derechos Humanos, que se aproxima al final de su período de sesiones anual de seis semanas, está demostrando ser casi incapaz de discutir sobre los derechos humanos.
¿Existe una forma de renovar, o de redescubrir, un lenguaje común que nos pudiera sacar del actual punto muerto? Yo creo que sí la hay, siempre que podamos cambiar de forma radical la relación entre la seguridad y los derechos humanos. El debate del Consejo de Seguridad versó sobre las armas de destrucción masiva, una cuestión clásica de seguridad, y sumamente familiar para el Consejo de Seguridad desde su inicio. Fueron incapaces o les faltó la voluntad de imaginar que su mandato se extendiera más allá de esa estrecha base. El debate del Consejo no trató sobre las muchas otras cuestiones de interés evidente para los miembros, como la falta de democracia en Irak o los horrores sistemáticos infligidos por su Gobierno a los oponentes políticos, reales o imaginados. El Consejo de Seguridad se vio incapaz de hablar acerca de un tema más amplio, que era cómo ocuparse de los peligros de seguridad planteados por un Gobierno que violaba flagrantemente los derechos humanos de sus ciudadanos y que, dada la tendencia que tiene la brutalidad a forzar sus límites, a continuación se dedicó a atacar a sus vecinos. Al final, la impresión fue que los principales participantes en el debate hablaban de una cosa mientras tenían otras en mente.
Quizá los miembros del Consejo de Seguridad pensaron que sería más próprio abordar las cuestiones de derechos humanos en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos. Pero en el actual periodo de sesiones de la Comisión, muchos de los 53 Estados representados han estado alegando que ésta no debería considerar la cuestión de Irak, puesto que el Consejo de Seguridad ya lo estaba haciendo. Algunos mantenían que los asuntos iraquíes tenían que ver principalmente con la seguridad, no con los derechos humanos, y por tanto debían seguir siendo competencia del Consejo. Otra línea de argumentación sostenía que los derechos humanos en Irak eran esencialmente una cuestión relacionada con la guerra, dado el penoso coste de ésta en vidas de civiles, y no de las violaciones de los derechos humanos que precedieron durante largo tiempo al conflicto bélico. Sin embargo, el deseo manifiesto de la mayoría de los Estados, tanto en Ginebra como en Nueva York, ha sido evitar abrir una discusión sobre los derechos humanos en Irak. En las semanas anteriores al comienzo de la guerra en Irak, hablé con muchos de los protagonistas del debate del Consejo. Debería ser obvio, pero quizá merezca la pena mencionar que ninguno de ellos sentía animadversión hacia Naciones Unidas; ninguno quería que el Consejo de Seguridad no alcanzase un consenso sobre Irak. Lo que les faltaba era encontrar la manera de hablar acerca del problema -enmarcarlo políticamente- de forma que el Consejo de Seguridad pudiera alcanzar un consenso. El atolladero en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos es similar y quizás peor. Ambos foros de discusión carecieron de un modo de conceptuar la seguridad en cuestión de derechos humanos y reconocer que las violaciones graves de los derechos humanos constituyen muy a menudo el núcleo de la inseguridad interna e internacional.
No es un problema nuevo. Consideremos la lista de los últimos fracasos de Naciones Unidas, muy especialmente su incapacidad para evitar el genocídio en Ruanda y la masacre de Srebrenica. ¿Qué tenían estos en común? Eran emergencias graves, más tarde horribles matanzas, cuya naturaleza no encajaba en los esquemas conceptuales del Consejo de Seguridad y ni siquiera en los de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos. No eran amenazas a la seguridad internacional en el sentido en que el Consejo las reconoce y entiende convencionalmente, y la Comisión de Derechos Humanos tampoco fue capaz de producir algún impacto en su terrible avance. Este es el fracaso político distintivo de nuestra era: la incapacidad de comprender la amenaza para la seguridad que suponen las violaciones graves de los derechos humanos, y la incapacidad de lograr consensos prácticos a la hora de actuar contra tal amenaza. Sin duda ahora podemos ver, al contemplar la pérdida de miles de vidas en Irak, que el precio de nuestro fracaso se está haciendo mayor. Y ya era trágicamente alto.
Debemos recurrir a los Estados miembros de Naciones Unidas, especialmente a los que se sientan en el Consejo de Seguridad y sobre todo a China, Francia, Rusia, el Reino Unido y EE UU para lidiar con este fracaso y superarlo de alguna forma que se base en el examen de sus responsabilidades, no de sus rivalidades. Criticar a Naciones Unidas como tal por no alcanzar un consenso sobre Irak es equivocarse de plano. Cuando los Estados miembros enredan sus propias normas o desbaratan su propia arquitectura política colectiva, es un error culpar a Naciones Unidas o a su secretario general, cuyos buenos oficios no se emplean lo bastante a menudo. Kofi Annan ha abogado incansablemente en pro del consenso sobre estas cuestiones vitales, pero no puede forzarlo. Y yo tampoco estoy en situación de poder hacerlo en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos, cuyos mandatos son llevados a cabo por mi oficina, pero que yo no dirijo ni controlo. En ambos lugares, el poder reside justamente en los Estados miembros. Deben encontrar un modo de usarlo para tratar los derechos humanos como un factor esencial en la seguridad interna e internacional.
Los Estados miembros de Naciones Unidas tienen una oportunidad. Con sus últimas acciones, han puesto aún más de manifiesto algunas de las carências de la institución que crearon (pero también puesto de relieve algunos de sus puntos fuertes). Todos los Estados, especialmente los miembros del Consejo de Seguridad, deberían aprovechar esta oportunidad para examinar sus relaciones como es debido y estudiar los medios que hay para llevar a cabo una reforma. Las definiciones disfuncionales de la seguridad han revelado su inutilidad en la crisis que envuelve actualmente a nuestro mundo. Actualmente, el pueblo de Irak, que ha sufrido durante tanto tiempo, es quien soporta principalmente el dolor, primero de la guerra y ahora de una paz refutada y polémica. Tiene que quedar claro que ha llegado la hora de que todos los Estados redefinan la seguridad global, para situar los derechos humanos en el centro de este concepto. Al hacerlo, todas las naciones deben ejercer su responsabilidad de manera acorde con su fuerza.
Sólo entonces los Estados responsables, en lugar de los meramente fuertes, serán capaces de aportar una estabilidad duradera a nuestro mundo. "

Declarações de Sergio Vieira de Mello Relativamente ao Iraque | 2003

Uma cronologia e as declarações do Representante do Secretário-Geral da ONU , Sergio Vieira de Mello, relativamente ao Iraque 2003.

A Resolução 1483 do Conselho de Segurança sobre o Iraque*, aprovada a 22 de Maio, estabeleceu o seguinte mandato para o Representante Especial do Secretário Geral para o Iraque:
(...)
“8. Pede ao Secretário-Geral que nomeie um Representante Especial para o Iraque que terá a responsabilidade, exercida de forma independente, de apresentar relatórios regulares ao Conselho sobre as actividades que levar a cabo nos termos da presente resolução, de coordenar a acção das Nações Unidas no processo pós-conflito no Iraque, de assegurar a coordenação dos esforços desenvolvidos pelos organismos das Nações Unidas e as organizações internacionais que prestam ajuda humanitária e facilitam as actividades de reconstrução no Iraque e de, em coordenação com a Autoridade, ajudar a população iraquiana:

a) coordenando a ajuda humanitária e a ajuda à reconstrução prestadas pelos organismos das Nações Unidas e as actividades levadas a cabo por estes últimos e as organizações não governamentais;

b) facilitando o repatriamento livremente consentido dos refugiados e deslocados, num quadro de ordem e de segurança;

c) trabalhando activamente com a Autoridade, o povo iraquiano e as outras entidades envolvidas, a fim de restabelecer as instituições nacionais e locais ou de as criar, de modo a permitir a formação de um governo representativo, designadamente colaborando na instauração de um processo que conduza à formação de um governo iraquiano representativo, reconhecido pela comunidade inter-nacional;

d) facilitando a reconstrução das infra-estruturas essenciais, em cooperação com outras organizações internacionais;

e) promovendo o relançamento da economia e a criação de condições favoráveis ao desenvolvimento sustentável, designadamente assegurando a coordenação com as organizações nacionais e regionais, se for caso disso, e com a sociedade civil, os doadores e as instituições financeiras internacionais;

f) incentivando os esforços internacionais para que as funções essenciais da administração civil sejam asseguradas;

g) promovendo os direitos humanos;

h) incentivando os esforços internacionais para tornar novamente operacional a polícia civil iraquiana;

i) incentivando os esforços internacionais para pro-mover uma reforma jurídica e judicial;

9. Apoia a formação, pelo povo iraquiano, com a ajuda da Autoridade e em colaboração com o Representante Especial, de uma administração interina iraquiana, dirigida pelos Iraquianos, que servirá de administração transitória até que um governo representativo, reconhecido pela comunidade internacional, seja estabelecido pelo povo iraquiano e assuma as responsabilidades da Autoridade; (...).

A 27 de Maio, em Nova Iorque, o Secretário-Geral Kofi Annan nomeou o actual Alto Comissário das Nações Unidas para os Direitos Humanos, Sergio Vieira de Mello, seu Representante Especial para o Iraque, por um período de quatro meses.

Em conferência de imprensa no Palais des Nations, em Genebra, a 30 de Maio, Sergio Vieira de Mello fez, entre outras, as seguintes declarações:

“A minha prioridade número um será, tal como noutras operações deste género, ouvir os Iraquianos. Fala-se muito de autoridade, fala-se muito dos americanos, dos britânicos, das outras forças da coligação, fala-se muito do papel das Nações Unidas, daquilo que não desempenharam ou do que deveriam desempenhar no futuro, mas não se fala tanto quanto seria necessário dos Iraquianos. O Iraque é um país que tem uma longa história. Há 6000, 5000, 4000 anos,O Iraque era a raiz principal da nossa cultura, da nossa civilização. Trata-se, portanto, de um povo que pode orgulhar-se da sua história, que viveu um período negro, durante estas duas últimas décadas e meia, como aconteceu com muitos outros países, como o meu, em particular. Mas tenho a certeza de que os Iraquianos saberão ultrapassar este traumatismo e é, portanto, neles, que devemos apoiar-nos, e são eles que precisamos de ajudar a criar aquilo a que a resolução do Conselho de Segurança chama uma administração transitória iraquiana para a qual será necessário, muito rapidamente, transferir poderes reais, tangíveis. Empenhar-me-ei nisso, apoiando a autoridade, as forças da coligação, na consecução desse objectivo, dado que me foi confirmado, tanto em Londres como em Washington, que é política da coligação colocar os Iraquianos no centro do palco, com a maior brevidade possível”.
“Farei o meu melhor, evidentemente, para demonstrar, apesar da curta duração desta missão, que os direitos humanos devem estar na base de qualquer solução para o conflito iraquiano, na base da criação de novas instituições verdadeiramente democráticas no Iraque, na base das políticas que serão prosseguidas por esta administração transitória “A resolução fala em rever as presentes disposições dentro de doze meses e, por isso, presumo que, quando regressar ao meu posto em Genebra, o Secretário-Geral nomeie outro Representante Especial, um sucessor para a minha pessoa. No que se refere à justiça, já respondi repetidamente a esta pergunta. Quanto à justiça, são os Iraquianos que têm de decidir. A justiça foi uma questão deixada nas mãos dos Timorenses, a justiça foi uma questão deixada nas mãos dos habitantes da Serra Leoa, a justiça foi uma questão deixada nas mãos dos Sul-africanos, a justiça foi uma questão deixada nas mãos dos Chilenos, cada situação é diferente. Serão os Iraquianos que terão de determinar como irão lidar com a responsabilização pelas sérias e flagrantes violações sistemáticas dos direitos humanos que ocorreram durante o regime de Saddam Hussein. Obviamente, como sabem, e o Estatuto de Roma do Tribunal Penal Internacional afirma-o claramente, deverá ser sempre dada preferência a tribunais nacionais. Evidentemente, se o Iraquianos recorrerem às Nações Unidas ou a qualquer outra instituição e pedirem ajuda para a criação de um tribunal nacional desse tipo, as Nações Unidas em particular e o meu gabinete terão o maior prazer em ajudar, porque isso também faz parte da reconciliação e da criação de um novo Iraque que possa viver em paz consigo mesmo e com o seu passado”

Na sua primeira conferência de imprensa em Bagdade, a 24 de Junho, Sérgio Vieira de Mello fez, entre outras, as seguintes declarações:

“Encontramo-nos verdadeiramente numa situação sem paralelo. O Conselho de Segurança atribuiu ao Secretário-Geral, que represento, um mandato num país que por acaso é um Membro fundador da Organização. Mas este Membro está actualmente sob ocupação de dois outros Membros das Nações Unidas, também eles Membros fundadores da Organização e que por acaso são membros permanentes do Conselho de Segurança que atribuiu o mandato ao Secretário-Geral. E não temos um homólogo sob a forma de um Governo nacional. Assim, concordarão em que, segundo os padrões habituais da ONU, esta situação é, na melhor das hipóteses, bizarra.”
“Como se podem ter apercebido, nas últimas três semanas mantive-me muito calado. Isso deveu-se a estar a ouvir, viajar e aprender. Para mim, o primeiro passo, pelo menos, era óbvio: falar com o maior número possível de Iraquianos, a fim de descobrir o que querem e como pensam que podemos ser úteis e ajudá-los a realizar essas aspirações. Trata-se, afinal, do seu país e devem ser eles a governá-lo. E será essencial para o êxito da comunidade internacional no Iraque que os Iraquianos se apropriem de todas as decisões que sejam tomadas e os afectem. Isto é e continuará a ser axiomático para a ONU no Iraque, enquanto aqui estivermos. Deixem-me dizer-vos o que aprendi.

• Aprendi que o Iraque é uma nação rica pelo seu povo, a sua história e os seus recursos;

• Aprendi que quanto mais depressa os Iraquianos tomarem o seu destino nas suas mãos, melhor, e quanto mais depressa controlarem os seus recursos naturais, melhor;

• Aprendi que o Iraque também é rico pela sua diversidade, que é uma fonte de força e de unidade, não de divisão, desde que se permita que os Iraquianos decidam sozinhos, livremente, a futura arquitectura do seu país;

• Aprendi que o Iraque não é Bagdade, mas sim também Baçorá e Erbil, que visitei na semana passada, e Najaf, Hillah e Kerbala, que visitarei no sábado, e todas as outras províncias que formam esta nação;

• Aprendi que os Iraquianos querem viver em paz com eles próprios e com os seus vizinhos;

• Aprendi que não devemos impor nada a esta nação, devendo antes prestar ajuda quando formos necessários, quando formos convidados pelos Iraquianos a prestar ajuda, para reconstruir o país democrático e pluralista por que os Iraquianos anseiam profundamente e que tanto merecem;

• E aprendi que os Iraquianos desejam que a ONU, como parceiro independente, tenha um papel importante no que se refere a ajudá-los a superar os traumas das últimas décadas e, em particular, desta guerra.”

“Não houve conflitos nem precisa de haver qualquer conflito entre nós e a coligação, na medida em que temos o mesmo objectivo, que é servir o povo iraquiano. Isso é o ponto principal e deveria ser axiomático para todos os estrangeiros que aqui se encontram e, certamente, para as Nações Unidas. Em segundo lugar, consultamo-los, como já disse, praticamente todos os dias, mas – o que talvez seja mais importante – temos consultado os representantes iraquianos. Já tive encontros com praticamente todos eles.”
“(As Forças da Coligação) tratam-nos como um parceiro, compete-vos julgar se em pé de igualdade ou não, mas tratam-nos seguramente como um parceiro e, repito, tenho ouvido atentamente o que têm a dizer. Analisámos as coisas minuciosamente, tanto a questão do Conselho Político, as suas funções e poderes, como a questão da designação dos Ministros interinos, a importância da criação de estruturas para que a comunidade internacional no seu conjunto, nomeadamente o Banco Mundial e o Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI), se possam relacionar com elas. As Forças da Coligação também ouviram atentamente as nossas opiniões, baseadas naquilo que os Iraquianos nos disseram: a questão do Processo Constitucional, a necessidade de organizar eleições no Iraque, como organizar as eleições, a questão do censo, a questão do sistema eleitoral, da lei eleitoral, da lei dos partidos políticos e da lei da conduta dos partidos políticos, são todas questões em que a ONU tem experiência e nas quais, diria, tem obtido bons resultados, nos últimos anos. E, com base da opinião dos Iraquianos, estas são questões em relação às quais eles, Iraquianos, gostariam que a ONU tivesse um papel muito activo, objectivo e de apoio, nunca em substituição deles.”
“Como sabem, há dois tipos de queixas (por parte dos Iraquianos). Uma delas tem que ver com segurança, desemprego, serviços públicos, serviços essenciais ou falta deles e dos quais, como pode calcular, a Coligação tem consciência, ao administrar um país que foi abalado por um conflito. Eu próprio recebi queixas semelhantes e sei como é difícil reparar essa situação numa questão de semanas. Contudo, o outro tipo é mais do que uma queixa. É impaciência, a profunda necessidade intensamente sentida pelos Iraquianos, e tento pôr-me no seu lugar, em termos de lhes ser dado aquilo a que julgam que têm direito, que é respeito e a capacidade de gerir os seus próprios assuntos e, obviamente, acham que este processo poderia estar a avançar mais rapidamente.”
“Recuso-me a admitir a hipótese de que isso (o processo não avança rapidamente) não vai acontecer. Tem de acontecer. Não há qualquer alternativa a isso. Nenhum estrangeiro pode governar este país. Só os Iraquianos têm a capacidade e o direito de administrar o Iraque. Por isso, é uma questão de tempo, não de ‘se vai acontecer, mas, obviamente, quanto mais tempo tardar, maior a frustração e a impaciência.”
“Ando a dizer desde que cheguei, desde que desci do avião, na realidade desde que fui nomeado para este cargo, que é aos Iraquianos que cabe estarem satisfeitos ou não com o desempenho da Coligação, da comunidade internacional ou das Nações Unidas, que não é a mim que compete emitir um juízo. A minha opinião é irrelevante; o que nos interessa é o que os Iraquianos pensam acerca de todos nós, incluindo o desempenho da Coligação. Estamos a preparar um relatório minucioso que será apresentado ao Conselho de Segurança, provavelmente até à segunda semana de Julho e que será uma avaliação global da situação no Iraque, do papel das Nações Unidas no Iraque, tanto no presente como no futuro, bem como daquilo a que chamaríamos o desempenho das Forças de Coligação no Iraque. Assim, queiram fazer o favor de esperar até essa altura.”
“Expliquei que temos um papel político do qual podem não ouvir falar muito e talvez possa ser melhor desempenhado dessa maneira. Disse que temos um papel na reabilitação e reconstrução do país. Quer através de ‘programas de emergência” que já apresentámos aos doadores, em Nova Iorque, quer através de actividades de reconstrução a longo prazo, que têm de esperar até Setembro. Ofereci a nossa ajuda em diversas esferas relacionadas com a justiça e a aplicação da lei. Mencionei que nos debruçaremos sobre a questão da responsabilização pelo passado e por violações dos direitos humanos no Iraque. Referi todas as actividades que pretendemos iniciar para reforçar a liberdade e instituições que consolidem o respeito pelos direitos humanos neste país. Assim, verão as Nações Unidas envolvidas numa grande diversidade de actividades que irão além da esfera humanitária. Julgo que fizemos trabalho humanitário, suficiente trabalho humanitário no Iraque. O Iraque tem direito a mais do que esmolas e a estrutura humanitária das Nações Unidas, que, por acaso, chefiei numa das minhas encarnações anteriores, fez um trabalho excelente no Iraque. Mas eles são os primeiros a quererem avançar para algo que conceda aos Iraquianos os seus plenos direitos, em especial o seu direito à dig-nidade e o direito de se governarem.”
“A ONU não tem aqui um papel no domínio de nation-building [criação e/ou consolidação das estruturas do Estado]. Por isso, permitam que os desengane nesse aspecto. As Nações Unidas não estão aqui nessa qualidade. Já fizeram isso noutros lugares, mas é evidente que não é o papel que aqui desempenhamos. São outros quem se ocupam das actividades de nation-building. Julgo que enumerei as principais preocupações das pessoas. São as mesmas de que falam aos senhores. É a segurança. É a estabilidade. É o desemprego. São os serviços essenciais. São estas as principais preocupações do dia-a-dia. Mas para além disso e a um nível mais profundo, mais fundamental, estão impacientes por verem surgir um órgão que seja verdadeiramente iraquiano e que assuma funções executivas interinas para poder gerir os assuntos quotidianos do país. É esta a sua principal e unânime preocupação, a aspiração de todos.”
“Aquilo que senti em todos os Iraquianos que conheci é que vêem na ONU uma fonte de legitimidade dos processos políticos de transição e a longo prazo. A resolução (do Conselho de Segurança) é clara. Estamos todos aqui, incluindo, em especial, a coligação sobre quem recai a responsabilidade primordial, enquanto a administração do país estiver a seu cargo, para criar novas instituições representativas neste país. A ONU desempenhará o seu papel e os Iraquianos entendem que esse papel consistirá em dar a essas instituições legitimidade internacional. Competirá ao Secretário-Geral e ao Conselho de Segurança afirmar em cada fase do roteiro, se essas instituições existem e se são reconhecidas como tal. Já aqui referi que teremos um papel, se os Iraquianos assim desejarem, no que se refere a fazer surgir essas instituições por meio de um processo eleitoral transparente, democrático, livre e justo. Não tenho o roteiro na minha mão. Ontem, ao responder a uma das perguntas de uma colega vossa, no Mar Morto, o Secretário-Geral afirmou que também é necessário um roteiro para o Iraque, e não só para a paz entre Israel e a Palestina. E penso que os Iraquianos acolheriam com agrado um calendário claro, um roteiro para a democratização do país, para a criação dessas instituições e a entrega da plena soberania a esta nação.”
(Fonte: ONU)
* http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_resolutions03.html (Resolução 1483 (2003) do Conselho de Segurança sobre o Iraque).

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNANAND SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR IRAQ, SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO, 27 MAY 2003

(English)
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNANAND SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR IRAQ, SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO, 27 MAY 2003

The Secretary-General: Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Last week the Security Council came together in Resolution 1483 to chart the way forward for post-conflict Iraq. The Council has called on the United Nations to assist the Iraqi people, in coordination with the Authority, in a wide range of areas, including humanitarian relief, reconstruction, infrastructure rehabilitation, legal and judicial reforms, human rights and return of refugees, and also to assist with civilian police. These efforts are going to demand a lot from us and from the international community.I have asked Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello to serve as my Special Representative. He will lead the United Nations effort in Iraq for the next four months.You saw him at work in Kosovo and in East Timor, running a complex mission there. I don’t think he needs an introduction. He has an exceptional and unique experience in running these operations and is also known as a good team builder and a consensus builder. I think he is someone who will hit the ground running.Obviously, I have to admit it was a rather difficult decision for me to name a sitting High Commissioner as my Representative in Iraq, even on a temporary basis, particularly as human rights has been on top of my own agenda and it is absolutely important to this organization. It was not an easy decision, but it also reflects the important challenge that we need to take on.No one has more experience in this area than Sergio Vieira de Mello, and I think for us to really get organized and become operational and effective immediately I needed someone who can hit the ground running and help us set up the operation at its early stages, so Sergio will be there for four months and will then return to his assignment in Geneva. In the meantime, Bertie Ramcharan will serve as Acting High Commissioner. I hope Sergio will have the support of all the Member States, and I am confident he will work well with the coalition Authority in Baghdad and with all the other groups in Iraq.I will now invite Sergio to say a few words.

Mr. Vieira de Mello: Thank you, Secretary-General, for your kind words and for your renewed confidence in me.The people of Iraq, as we know only too well, have suffered and have suffered enough. It is time that we all -– the Iraqis first, the coalition Authority and the United Nations –- come together to ensure that this suffering comes to an end and that the Iraqi people take their destiny into their own hands, as the Security Council resolution calls for, as quickly as possible. We must not fail.It will not come to you as a surprise, as the Secretary-General just indicated, that I consider the development of a culture of human rights in Iraq as fundamental to stability and true peace in that country. You may have read me in recent weeks, writing to that effect in the media. I believe, on the basis of my experience, that respect for human rights is the only solid foundation for durable peace and for development. I shall place particular importance, as agreed with the Secretary-General, on the need to ensure women’s rights and their full participation in the consultative processes –- not least the political one –- that lie ahead.As the Secretary-General said, the decision to appoint me to this relatively short-term assignment was not easy for him and for me, which is why we kept it to a relatively short duration, in order to lay the foundations of the United Nations role in that country. But I will leave behind, as he pointed out, a very strong team in Bertie Ramcharan and the senior management in my Office, and I will remain in very, very close touch with them.I think I will stop here, and we will take your questions.

Question [UNCA President]: Thank you, Secretary-General, for coming here today, and Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, as well.I would like to abuse my role, if I may, Sir, by asking a question about housekeeping before I ask a substantive question about Iraq. The housekeeping question has to do with a briefing that the United Nations Correspondents Association wanted to have on Friday of last week, which we were prevented from having because of pressures by one of the Member States.Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands solidly in defence of the principle of freedom of the press. I was hoping to get an assurance from you, Sir, that in the future you would be able to rely on this Article in defending our right to meet with whoever we choose. If I could get your answer to that, and then I will ask you a question about Iraq.

The Secretary-General: Let me say that we have always respected that right. And I think you in this room are very much aware of the practice and my own approach towards that issue. While we respect your rights, I think as an Organization we also have certain principles. I think you have to respect those principles just as much as we have to. I think the explanation you got was that the event you planned conflicted with the “one China” policy, that you had an individual who was coming here to discuss with you Taiwan’s relationship with the World Health Organization and its efforts to become an observer. That, quite frankly, you will have to admit, was not in line with the United Nations policy. So, this was an exceptional and unique situation. In the past, we have not interfered, and in the future we will not interfere.

Question: Obviously, this is not the place for a debate on the issue, and we will be taking this up in the future. I thank you for your answer.To move on to the issue of Iraq, resolution 1483 (2003) is silent on the issue of human rights, silent on the proposals by the occupying powers to establish military courts. I was wondering if you are distressed or upset in any way by that omission.More specifically, there have been reports today that the United States is now considering establishing a death row for its camp in Guantanamo, and I am wondering what your reaction to that is.

The Secretary-General: Let me say that the resolution does talk about promoting human rights, so human rights is covered. But on the legal and judicial issue, I think we are going to have lots of work to do. That is one of the areas that I am sure my Representative will have to tackle with the coalition Authority, and discuss this issue on the ground.Concerning the Guantanamo Bay development, I have not seen the details of it, and I would hesitate to comment on it at the moment.

Question: There are critics in the Middle East who are very strongly criticizing the United Nations, first, for in their eyes legitimizing the results of an illegal war -- which you yourself described as illegal -- in resolution 1483 (2003). Secondly, it has proved once again that the United Nations is unable to stop the unilateral action of a powerful State if it wishes to do so.My question concerning the special envoy is, why so short? Why only four months? Why not longer?

The Secretary-General: On your first question, let me say that this is an issue that the Council debated and considered for a long period. There have been divisions, and we cannot overlook that. Those divisions and issues -- positions of principle that governments and individuals took -- are a matter for the record. I do not think that the resolution that the Council adopted last week is going to change the history of the recent past. However, the Council has given us a solid and a legal basis for our operations in Iraq, and I think at this stage that all the Council members are focused on what they can do to help Iraq and the Iraqi people -- and I think that should be our focus and our emphasis. I think if we pursue our actions on that basis, we will be able to make a difference.On the question of the duration of Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello’s appointment, obviously, as I said, he has an important assignment in Geneva. Yet he was uniquely qualified for this, and I have asked him to go and help establish the United Nations presence –- establish a relationship, mount the operation. He will be replaced at the end of the four months. I had to use him in a similar vein in Kosovo, as some of you may remember, and at that time, I limited it to two months. This time it will be four months. Iraq is a much more complex operation.

Question: I think the forthcoming interim Government is going to be an important one for the Iraqi people. People are wondering how the leader of the interim Government, as well as the cabinet members, will be decided on or selected. I hear that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General is going to assist in establishing the interim Government. Are you going to make suggestions, and the Americans will decide who is going to be the head, and the cabinet members? Would you explain the role of the Special Representative?


Mr. Vieira de Mello: I think I will be in a better position to answer your question after I have reached Baghdad and had an opportunity to consult, as I said, with a broad spectrum of Iraqi leaders and opinion-makers, as it were. I am not privy to the intentions of the Authority in terms of establishing this Iraqi interim administration –- transitional administration. I will do my best, however, on behalf of the Secretary-General and the Security Council to make sure that the interests of the Iraqi people come first.

The Secretary-General: And you should also remember that everyone is agreed –- and it is in the Council resolution -– that the Iraqis should be responsible for their own political future. They are going to be very much at the centre of this. We will be there to assist and to work with them; we are not going to impose any leaders on them.

Question: You are apparently reluctant during this process to delineate the role that the United Nations could or should play in Iraq. But after the Security Council has spoken, the United Nations has ended up with quite a broad and long-ranging mandate. How close does the resulting role come to what you think the ideal United Nations role should be? Secondly, sinceMr. Vieira de Mello’s appointment is only for four months, are you preparing a successor? Who might that be?

The Secretary-General: Good try. No, let me say that the resolution, indeed, does give us a broad mandate, and each situation is unique. When one refers to an ideal United Nations mandate –- it is difficult to describe an ideal United Nations mandate. First of all, this is a unique situation. It is the first time we are working on the ground with an occupying Power, side-by-side, trying to help the population in the territory. Therefore, there are certain things that we will have to work out on the ground. We have to define and work out our relationship with the coalition Authority or the occupying Power, and also our relationship with occupied Iraq. As he said, we are going to be in touch -– he will be in touch -– not only with the coalition but with a broad range of authorities. Some of the activities are very clear. The humanitarian mandate is very clear. We have a direct responsibility for it and we are going to carry it out as we are doing.In other areas, we have to work in partnership with the coalition and, of course, with Iraqi civil society and leaders. And, of course, these relationships will have to be worked out on the ground; we cannot decide it here before Mr. Vieira de Mello gets in. As he indicated earlier, most of it he will have to work out on the ground. But as far as the resolution is concerned, I think we can work with it. I think it gives us specific areas of responsibility, and we are going to carry on with it.Mr. Vieira de Mello will be replaced in four months, and I will announce his successor in due course –- but not today.

Question: This might be a little unrelated, but it is in the news. On the Road Map, reportedly one of the 14 conditions or reservations Israel has made is that the only part of the Quartet that will oversee the implementation on the ground will be the United States, and not the other three. Being one of the other three, will you insist that the United Nations will be in it? Also, what do you think of Israel’s acceptance of the Road Map?

The Secretary-General: I think it is a very encouraging development that Israel has accepted the Road Map. The Prime Minister has indicated that he has some questions that he is going to pose later. But the fact that he has accepted it is a positive development. And the Quartet, and the international community, has the basis for moving forward in assisting the two parties to resolve their conflict.As to the suggestion that Israel will only accept the United States as a party on the ground –- I take it to monitor the Road Map –- it is something that we will tackle as we move forward. But I think that all the partners are concerned to see effective action. We want to see progress; we want to see an end to this painful conflict. And we will, I am sure, accept any arrangement that will help us achieve that objective.

Question: The sanctions were lifted in the name of the Iraqi people, and now Mr. Vieira de Mello has been appointed in the name of the Iraqi people. Who are these Iraqis? Have they been consulted? And secondly, there are 300 million Arabs and 1 billion Muslims in the world. Why not one of them, with all due respect to Mr. Vieira de Mello?

The Secretary-General: Let me, first of all, correct you. I did not say that Mr. Vieira de Mello had been named in the name of the Iraqi people. I said that Sergio Vieira de Mello has been named to go and work with the Iraqi people, to assist them, and it is their interests and their concerns that should be forefront in our minds.As to your second question, I have a great deal of respect for all religions. It was not a religious factor. I think that, as we move forward and the team is formed, you will see that your question will be answered.

Question (interpretation from French): How does Mr. Vieira de Mello envisage the work that lies ahead with the coalition? Could he tell us something about this four-month mandate?

Mr. Vieira de Mello (interpretation from French): On the four-month mandate, I believe the Secretary-General has just responded. I have other full-time functions in Geneva. It was not easy to reach an understanding on the duration of the mission, so it seemed to us that four months was a reasonable duration that would not put my other functions in Geneva at risk. You are well aware of the importance of those functions, although, my mission in Iraq also relates to the protection of human rights, you will agree to that.Working with the Authority is part of the rules of the game. They are responsible for the administration of the country until there is a new order. As the Secretary-General has said and as the resolution says, we all hope that that new order will come soon. It is imperative that the Iraqi people take the destiny of their country in their own hands. We will contribute to that, working with the Authority, working with the other components of the international community: the diplomatic community in Baghdad, the neighbouring countries –- because Iraq cannot be dealt with in isolation from those countries –- and with all the representatives of civil and political society in Iraq.

Question: Mr. Secretary-General, you have said that human rights is at the top of your agenda, and you, Mr. Vieira de Mello, have pointed to the importance of promoting women’s rights. May I ask you what, specifically, do you think the United Nations can do to further women’s rights in Iraq, especially when we hear now about various conservative clerics who want to turn back the clock and limit women’s roles?

Mr. Vieira de Mello: I think experience has shown that an assertive policy in the promotion of the full range of the human rights of women –- be they civil, political, or economic, social and cultural –- can only lead to peace, stability, development and tolerance. So, we will do our utmost –- within, obviously, the limitations of our own mandate –- to bring that about among the components of Iraqi society and to assist the Authority, which is charged to do the same.

The Secretary-General: I think your question also implied that you are concerned that Iraqi women, who have had relative freedom, may lose ground and that one should do everything possible to ensure that that does not happen and, if possible, that their interests and rights are protected. We do share that objective and I think that will be one of the efforts Mr. Vieira de Mello will be making with the Iraqi authorities and with others on the ground.

Question: Mr. Vieira de Mello, when will you actually be hitting the ground running in Baghdad, and with what size of staff? What will be the makeup of that staff? And what is to prevent you hitting the ground running as a lame duck and with people basically saying: “Well, he is only going to be here four months. If we don’t like him, we’ll just deal with his successor”?

Mr. Vieira de Mello: First of all, the United Nations is not absent from Iraq. We already have a sizeable presence in that country that is doing a fabulous job in very, very difficult circumstances. I am speaking of the humanitarian community.Secondly, I intend to “hit the ground”, as you put it, on Monday morning at the latest, with a relatively small team, because the conditions in Baghdad are still not ideal, both in terms of accommodation and office space, not to speak of security. But that will be reinforced in different, successive waves until we reach the ideal size, which I still need to determine, of our mission in Baghdad.As far as being a lame duck, I don’t think I was a lame duck in Kosovo when I served for two months in the initial phase. We won’t have time for that. I am going there with my team to do immediate, important and urgent work and you will see that we won’t be lame ducks in any way or fashion.

Question: Mr. Vieira de Mello, could you tell us what you actually plan to do next Monday, next week, when you get there? Specifically, you must have some ideas of what you would like to do. Also, could you tell us what your ideas are about doing a Bonn-style large political conference so that there would really be a great input from the Iraqi people in trying to decide on their political future?

Mr. Vieira de Mello: Your second question is difficult and you will easily understand that I cannot answer that now. Let me get there and let us see how we can contribute to that happening. Now, as far as I am concerned, as I hit the ground, priority number one will be to establish contacts with the representative Iraqi leaders, representatives of the media, of civil society -– and there are many. Iraqi society is rich and that richness has been suppressed brutally for the last 24 years. But they are there –- they are there or are returning as we speak –- and they are my priority. Number two: establish good working relations with the Authority, with the coalition members. Number three: visit all the provinces, because Iraq is not limited to Baghdad and I think it is important that I pay attention to what Iraqis in all the 18 provinces actually feel and aspire to in terms of their future.

Question: Mr. Vieira de Mello, have you in your long travels with the United Nations ever been in Baghdad and can you compare it to your experiences in East Timor, which certainly put you on the map for the United Nations in terms of nation building? The big difference is that you were like the mayor, governor, first de facto president of that island, and now a quite different situation. Can you compare the experiences?

Mr. Vieira de Mello: I was in Baghdad as a child with my father when he was posted in the region, and I have visited once since, but that was a long time ago.Secondly, I find it always dangerous to compare one experience with another. Certainly, East Timor, Kosovo, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone have taught us many lessons which can be applied in the case of Iraq, but the two situations are completely different and I’ll have to determine how the lessons I’ve learned and the Organization has learned could apply to this particular mandate in Iraq.

Question (interpretation from French): Mr. Vieira de Mello, could you give us your assessment of the present situation, the problems that seem to you to be most urgent, most difficult to manage in the immediate term?

Mr. Vieira de Mello (interpretation from French): I believe that, in the immediate term, it is obvious that the question of law and order is of priority. Security has not yet been fully restored and it is impossible to deal with the rest and to build what we want to build: democratic institutions, a real culture of human rights and a political process, making it possible for the Iraqis to govern themselves as soon as possible -– it’s impossible without security.

Question: Mr. Secretary-General, a lot has been written about the allegedly diminished role of the United Nations pre- and post-conflict. What is your reaction to these kinds of comment?

The Secretary-General: I really will have to say that I obviously don’t know the basis of the definition that before the conflict the United Nations was not active. I think all of us saw the intensive activities in the Council and the debate that led to the divisions we’ve all talked about -– the debate and the divisions that cut across old, traditional lines. So I think the Council, in a way, and the United Nations did before the war what it was supposed to do. The Council acted the way it should have. The fact that they did not come to a common consensus, and the war took place without the Council’s approval, did not mean that the Council did not do its work. The Council did debate; the Council really took the issue very, very seriously. And since the war, the discussions that led to resolution 1483 (2003) were also extremely difficult. But I think that, if I understand you correctly, you are implying -– as others have implied –- that the United Nations should have been able to stop the war, and it was not in the capacity of the United Nations to do that.

Question (interpretation from French): Mr. Secretary-General, there has been a great deal of criticism regarding the fact that, despite your very strong attitude towards the war on Iraq, there was not enough strength to stop the war. What can you say in response to this type of criticism?

The Secretary-General (interpretation from French): Obviously, Security Council members discussed and are still discussing this issue. The Council was fully seized of the matter. The decision was theirs to make, not mine. My position was clear: I would have preferred a peaceful solution. But that was not possible, and I believe everyone knows that. That’s why today we have a mandate to help the Iraqi people, and we will do everything possible to help them.Spokesman: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/sgsm8720.doc.htm
UN Security Council Resolutions, http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_resolutions03.html (UN Security Council Resolution 1483).

Sergio Vieira de Mello - Pensamento e Trabalho - Civitas Maxima

O Trabalho e Pensamento de Sergio Vieira de Mello está sendo divulgado pela Civitas Maxima no contexto de alargada reflexão e discussão, para uma acção consequente, sobre Direitos Humanos, Paz e Segurança, Desenvolvimento, a ONU e a Reforma da ONU, o trabalho das ONGs, a importancia de Parcerias, a responsabilidade dos Cidadãos/das Empresas/dos Estados no cumprimento dos seus deveres em matéria de Direitos Humanos e empenhamento conjunto relativo às metas e Objectivos de Desenvolvimento do Milénio até ao ano 2015, projecto Cidades de Direitos Humanos, villages@unmillenniumproject.org , o Ensino e Formação em Direitos Humanos.
É compromisso de todos os que integram, e venham a integrar, a Organização Não Governamental Civitas Maxima honrar, respeitar e não politizar, o Pensamento de Sergio Vieira de Mello, proposta de um Humanismo Cosmopolita, e fazer com que se cumpra, através de nós, cidadãos.

SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO
Biographical note

Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil, who was killed in a terror attack in Baghdad while serving as Secretary-General Special Representative in Iraq, has been the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights begining on 12 September 2002 after the UN General Assembly approved his appointment by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.Until May 2002, Mr. Vieira de Mello was the United Nations Transitional Administrator in East Timor. Prior to that, he briefly held the position of Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo, following a year and a half serving at Headquarters as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. He has been with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 1969, culminating in his appointment as United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees in January 1996. He has extensive Headquarters and field experience in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, including in Bangladesh, Sudan, Cyprus, Mozambique, Peru and Lebanon. Mr. Vieira de Mello has also served as Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for Cambodia, Director of Repatriation for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), Head of Civil Affairs of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), as well as United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lakes region of Africa. Mr. Vieira de Mello studied in Brazil and France, receiving a doctorate from the University of Paris (Panthéon-Sorbonne). Born on 15 March 1948, he is married and has two sons. 29 August 2003.
Link,http://www.un.org/News/dh/iraq/demello-bio.htm, consultado a 2 de Setembro de 2006

Actualização feita a 25 de Março de 2008:

Sergio Vieira de Mello
Biography

Sergio Vieira de Mello was born on March 15th 1948 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He lived abroad from a young age having had a father who was a diplomat and a historian. Once back in Brazil, Sergio finished his secondary school education in the Lycée Franco-Brésilien in Rio, graduating with a baccalaureate in Classical Literature. In 1966, in an effort to be close to his father, then Consul General in Frankfurt, Germany, Sergio moved to Switzerland to study philosophy at the University of Fribourg. He subsequently moved to Paris to pursue his education, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 1969 and a Master’s degree in 1970, both in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University.
Sergio joined the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a French Editor when Sadruddin Aga Khan was High Commissioner. While holding this position, he finished his third cycle Ph.D in 1974 (with honours) at the Sorbonne. He later obtained his “State Doctorate” in 1985.
Following the proclamation of independence of “East Pakistan” in December 1971, UNHCR undertook an unprecedented repatriation operation. In the context of this gigantic undertaking, Sergio Vieira de Mello then aged 23, was sent to Dhaka to work on ensuring the successful repatriation and reintegration of the Bengali refugees who fled to India to escape the civil war. In the five months of that assignment, Sergio was a witness to the birth of a new state—Bangladesh.
In the summer of 1972, Sergio was again assigned to the field to help in another UNHCR operation in South Sudan. Again at the young age of 24, he actively participated in the repatriation and reintegration of hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese refugees who had fled the country during the civil war. Upon returning to Europe, he got married in France in the summer of 1973 to Annie.
In the following year, Sergio was assigned to Cyprus, first to South Nicosia, then to North Nicosia as the Head of the UNHCR programme for the island.
On June 25th 1975, Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, became independent, Sergio, accompanied by his wife Annie, left for Mozambique to take charge once again of the repatriation operation and the reintegration of Mozambicans who had fled the country during the war. When the UNHCR Representative in Maputo completed his assignment, Sergio, at age 28, took command of the UNHCR office in the country becoming one of the youngest UNHCR Representatives in the field.
In the beginning of 1978, Sergio was named Regional Representative for UNHCR to Peru. Sergio was just turning 30. He left with his family for Lima where their first son, Laurent was born in mid-1978. Sergio and his family stayed in Peru for two years while essentially negotiating the repatriation, particularly to Europe, of thousands of Latin American refugees who had initially gone to Chile under the Allende regime, and later fled to Peru following the coup d’Etat of Augusto Pinochet.
In January 1980, Sergio returned to Geneva to take up a post in the Personnel Division of UNHCR where he was responsible for shaping the careers of many international civil servants. His second son Adrien was born in the same year.
In November 1981, after having spent 20 months in Geneva, Sergio was seconded by UNHCR as Political Affairs Advisor to the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). This first experience, as part of a peace-keeping operation, led him to appreciate the complexities of such operations and drew him close to the military. In July 1983, Sergio Vieira de Mello returned to Geneva to resume his functions in the Personnel Division at UNHCR Headquarters.
He spent the next ten years at the Headquarters occupying different positions within the organization. During that decade, he would be named to serve in Buenos Aires, only to be quickly recalled when the new High Commissioner Jean-Pierre Hocké took office in 1986, to serve as his Chef de Cabinet. Sergio benefited from the period of stability in Geneva to finish his doctorate thesis “Civitas Maxima” for which he received a “very honourable “mention from The Sorbonne in Paris in December 1985.
During the years spent at UNHCR Headquarters, Sergio occupied the position of Chef de Cabinet to the High Commissioner, Secretary of the Executive Committee and in May 1988 he became Director of the Asia Bureau and subsequently occupied the post of Director for External Affairs. In the context of his work in the Asia Bureau, he was the main initiator of the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) which put an end to the exodus of the Vietnamese “boat people”, who were still leaving Vietnam ten years after the end of hostilities. For that purpose, Sergio managed to bring all stakeholders to the negotiating table, notably the administrations in Washington and Hanoi, which in 1980 was an accomplishment, as the scars of the Vietnamese war were far from healed in both countries.
At the end of 1991, the new High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs Sadako Ogata, named Sergio as her Special Envoy in Cambodia. He simultaneously assumed the responsibility of the Head of the Division of Repatriation of the United Nations Transitional Authority for Cambodia (UNTAC). This operation was considered a successful one for the United Nations. In June 1993, around 370,000 Cambodians returned home to their villages.
On returning to Geneva in the summer of 1993, Sergio had to leave again in the autumn of the same year to Bosnia to take part in a peace-keeping operation. In October 1993, he became the Political Director for UNPROFOR in Sarajevo, then in April 1994, he was stationed in Zagreb as Head of Civil Affairs.
Sergio returned to UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva in October and became Director of Planning and Operations. One of the main accomplishments in this post was the organization of the Conference on Refugees and Population Movements in the Community of Independent States (CIS). The Conference took place in Geneva in May 1996 and adopted a Plan of Action, the goal of which was to control and channel the influx of migration as a result of the break up of the ex-Soviet Republics. In January 1996, Sergio was promoted to the position of Assistant Secretary-General and became the first Assistant-High Commissioner for Refugees.
In October 1996 Sergio Vieira de Mello was again detached from UNHCR and named as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region. He performed the functions of Humanitarian Coordinator for the three months of his assignment (October-December 1996). He returned to Geneva at the beginning of 1997 to resume his functions as Assistant High Commissioner in UNHCR.
In January 1998, Mr. Kofi Annan, who took office as Secretary-General of the United Nations a year earlier, appointed Sergio Vieira de Mello as Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Head of of the Office of Coordination of Humanirarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York. Sergio undertook, at the request of the Secretary-General, an evaluation mission to Kosovo (UNMIK). Upon his return to New York, he delivered his report to the Security Council and was shortly afterwards named by the Secretary-General as his Special Representative in charge of the United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Upon his return to New York in July 1999, he resumed his function as Head of OCHA.
In November 1999, after the Security Council adopted a resolution on September 15th creating the International Forces of Intervention (INTERFRET) and a subsequent resolution on 25th October creating the United Nations transitional Authority for East Timor (UNTAET), Sergio Vieira de Mello took over as Administrator of UNTAET in Dili. From November 1999 until April 2002, Sergio was the de-facto Governor of East Timor. Timor Leste was later created on May 20th 2002 with Xanana Gusmao becoming its first President.
In September 2002, Sergio was named by the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, as High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva. He remained in his new post until the end of May 2003, when the Secretary-General, asked him to serve as his Special Representative in Baghdad for four months. Sergio arrived in Iraq on June 2nd 2003. On July 22nd , he delivered his report on the situation in Iraq to the Security Council, noting the particularly difficult conditions under which the United Nations had to work in the country.
Sergio Vieira de Mello was killed in Baghdad, with 21 of his colleagues, in the bloodiest attack that ever targeted the United Nations in its long history, on the afternoon of August 19th.The world was stunned. The deep sense of loss that accompanied Sergio’s tragic abrupt departure grew into a swell of unprecedented grief and despair. It is difficult to select what sentiment best represented the mood of gloom and emptiness worldwide that followed Sergio’s untimely departure but one obituary stand out because of its sheer simplicity... it came from the heart.
Former UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner and close friend Kamel Morjane (presently Tunisia's Defense Minister): "At the UNHCR, where he spent 25 years of his life, he was the brilliant son that his elders would have wished to have. For his peers, like me, he was the colleague or the friend, often both, that one tried to emulate and hold up as an example, but one was never able to equal".
Throughout his long illustrious career, Sergio was supported, encouraged and protected quietly from behind the scene by his wife Annie as both watched with pride their sons Laurent and Adrien grow and bloom into successful young men. As a family, they will continue to miss their beloved Sergio very dearly.
After lying in state in his native Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Geneva, a city that had become a second home to him and whose citizens lined the streets to pay him their last respects, Sergio Vieira de Mello was laid to rest in the Cimetière des Rois (the Cemetery of Kings) in Geneva on 28th August 2003.
May his soul rest in eternal peace
Fonte,http://www.sergiovdmfoundation.org/en/sergio_biography.html, consultada a 25 de Março de 2008

Sergio Vieira de Mello Alto Comissário das Nações Unidas para os Direitos Humanos

Sergio Vieira de Mello (1948-2003),
Alto Comissário das Nações Unidas para os Direitos Humanos (2002-2003).
De nacionalidade brasileira e filho de um Diplomata, Cidadão Cosmopolita, de formação filosófico-política, com dois doutoramentos pela Universidade de Paris (Sorbonne), e uma carreira de 34 anos na ONU, a maior parte deles vividos em Genève, Sergio Vieira de Mello é reconhecido pela sua inteligência, pelo seu humanismo, pela sua integridade, pela sua capacidade de mediação na resolução de conflitos, pelo seu profissionalismo, determinação, lealdade e entrega total à ONU ao serviço da Liberdade, da Democracia, do Multilateralismo, da Paz, na defesa de Valores Universais e Princípios. Ao longo da sua vida afirmou sempre reger a sua actuação pelos Princípios da Independência e da Imparcialidade do Diplomata Sueco Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961), ex- Secretário Geral das Nações Unidas morto em missão de paz ao serviço da ONU no Congo (1961), e Prémio Nobel da Paz (1961).
Sergio Vieira de Mello morreu no Iraque com seus 21 colegas de missão no ataque à Sede das Nações Unidas (ONU) em Bagdad, a 19 de Agosto de 2003 e está sepultado na Suíça, em Genève, cidade que faz parte da sua vida pessoal e profissional.
Deixou dois filhos adultos, do seu casamento com Annie Vieira de Mello , Laurent Vieira de Mello e Adrien Vieira de Mello, que desenvolvem trabalho em áreas científicas.
(English)
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello (2002-2003).
Sergio Vieira de Mello appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 12 September 2002. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1948, Sergio Vieira de Mello joined the United Nations in 1969 while studying philosophy and humanities at the University of Paris (Panthéon-Sorbonne).
Vieira de Mello began his United Nations work at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. He also served in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Bangladesh, the Sudan, Cyprus, Mozambique and Peru. He assumed his first high-profile post in 1981, when he was appointed Senior Political Adviser to United Nations forces in Lebanon. He then occupied several high-level posts at UNHCR: Chef de Cabinet for the High Commissioner, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Oceania, and Director of the Division of External Relations.
Between 1991 and 1996, Vieira de Mello served as Special Envoy of the High Commissioner for Cambodia , Director of Repatriation for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), Head of Civil Affairs of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), and United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lakes Region of Africa. In 1996, he was appointed United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees. Two years later, he was posted to New York as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. He also briefly held the post of Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo and served as United Nations Transitional Administrator in East Timor.
Less than a year after he was appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, asked Vieira de Mello to take a temporary leave of absence from his post to serve in Iraq as Annan's Special Representative there. On 19 August 2003, just three months after he arrived in Iraq, Vieira de Mello-and 21 colleagues-were killed when the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad was attacked.
( http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/hc/vieira.htm , 2003) .

TESTIMONIALS/TEMOIGNAGES/TESTIMONIOS _ 2003
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to OHCHR’s staff
Sergio dedicated his professional life to the values set out in the United Nations Charter. He never once hesitated to take on difficult, even dangerous assignments. Victims of conflict and disasters throughout the world came to know him as someone who understood their plight and knew how to deliver results despite enormous obstacles. That effectiveness was always combined with a remarkable grace and sensitivity. I share your sorrow at this unimaginable loss for your Office and for the United Nations family.
-----
We cannot accept that Sergio had to die at this time, in this way, or that anything good can come of it. We cannot accept that all his brilliance, his energy, his devotion to his staff and his loyalty to the ideals of the United Nations, have been so abruptly taken from us. Indeed, we can imagine nothing more cruel, or pointless, or unjust.
Sergio, my friend, you have entered that Pantheon of heroes that the United Nations wishes it did not have. You will shine forever among our brightest stars. May you rest in peace.

Pope John Paul II
The tragic news that reaches us from Baghdad (…) in the past hours can only make us feel deep sadness and unanimous reprobation.

Mary Robinson, former UN human rights chief and predecessor of Sergio Vieira de Mello
This may be a wake-up call for the world that the situation in Iraq wasn't very tenable before this terrible outrage... It's an appalling blow and the world must rally.

French President Jacques Chirac
Such hateful acts arouse nothing but indignation and the strongest condemnation.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
It is an attack on the international community of states, but also an attack on the future of the Iraqi people.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov
The fact that terrorists targeted the United Nations, which spares no effort in helping the Iraqi people overcome the war's consequences and return to normal life, is particularly outrageous.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
What was the UN doing in Iraq? It was providing food, it was providing shelter, it was providing humanitarian assistance. A terrorist... has gone and attacked the people who were in Iraq to help.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Sergio Vieira de Mello was a victim of the insanity of terrorism.

Iraq's Governing Council
described the Brazilian diplomat as "a friend of the Iraqi people" and called for a monument to be named in his memory.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell
called Mr Vieira de Mello "a hero who dedicated his life to helping people in danger". Mr Powell said: "Sergio never shirked the most difficult assignments... Where others saw obstacles or despair, he created options and solutions."

Bertrand Ramcharan,
Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the diplomat was "an immensely gifted man".
"He was gifted by nature with intelligence, wit and charm, and to that he added a solid education and a solid commitment to the principles of the United Nations."

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers,
recalled Mr Vieira de Mello as "a true gentleman who garnered the respect of adversaries, a tough negotiator who fought for human rights and the dignity of the downtrodden".

Hedayat Abdel-Nabi,
President of the Geneva UN correspondents association, called Mr Vieira de Mello "the best of the best - a charismatic, brilliant character".
Countries across Asia, where Mr Vieira de Mello served for many years, also lined up to honour the fallen diplomat.

East Timor President Xanana Gusmao
"Our nation mourns the death of a unique and unforgettable friend.
"He fought tirelessly for democracy, human rights and sustainable justice for the people of East Timor."

Léo Kanemann, Directeur du Festival International du Film sur les droits humains
« C’est avec une profonde tristesse que nous avons appris le décès de M. Sergio Vieira de Mello à Bagdad, dans des conditions atroces. Nous gardons un souvenir ému de son soutien enthousiaste en tant que parrain du premier Festival, le 28 mars dernier. Cette disparition nous confirme tragiquement la nécessité de combattre les violations des droits de l’homme, et c’est en sa mémoire que nous continuerons notre manifestation. »

Olivier Duffau, cinéaste, ARTE
« L’horreur et le dégoût.
Pourquoi lui, l’homme de Paix ? »

Reporters sans frontières
« La mort de Sergio Vieira de Mello est une vraie perte pour les trop nombreuses victimes des exactions, des violations des libertés. Il était leur porte-parole, d’une rare efficacité. Il était aussi un allié précieux pour les défenseurs des droits de l’homme qui savaient pouvoir compter sur cet avocat infatigable de leur cause. En seulement quelques mois, il avait su donner à la fonction de Haut-Commissaire aux droits de l’homme un deuxième souffle, une deuxième dimension. Il savait ne pas mâcher ses mots –y compris à l’égard de la bureaucratie onusienne – et travaillait en toute confiance avec les organisations non gouvernementales »

Geneva Association of United Nations correspondents
« Sergio Vieira de Mello was the star of the UN, the man who was loved by the media, and who respected the work of the media. He was the best of the mediatic UN diplomats and as all agreed he was the best of the best, a charismatic, brilliant character with intellectual superiority. The loss of Sergio Vieira de Mello is not only a loss for the UN, but also a monumental loss for the Geneva press corps. He had an electric human effect on all whose who knew him; his contribution to humanity is that of the superior intellect, the perpetrators of the attack killed this major human contribution to humanity.
It is an attack against all what is good in our world.
Sergio will lead the other victims of today’s attack as the leading hero of humanity.”

El Hadji Gorgui Wade Ndoye
« Il croyait aux droits de l’homme. Il est mort sur le terrain. Philosophe de formation et homme de conviction, Sergio Vieira de Mello s’était toujours montré très sensible aux problèmes de l’humanité. Il avait un contact facile avec les populations civiles qui souffrent dans les quatre coins du monde. Dans un entretien qu’il avait accordé au «Soleil» du Sénégal, il disait : "J’ai choisi l’Afrique comme mon premier continent pour mes visites de travail. C’est un message de solidarité que je donne à l’Afrique. C’est le respect des droits de l’homme qui garantit la paix. Il n’y a pas de conflit sans violation des droits de l’homme. Au mois de mai dernier, il est nommé Envoyé spécial de l’ONU en Irak. Il devait passer 4 mois à Bagdad. Il lui restait encore quelques semaines. Mais Sergio Vieira de Mello ignorait qu’il allait y laisser sa vie. L’ONU devra s’armer, aujourd’hui, Sergio plus que jamais, de ton courage et de ta dévotion, afin que ton combat pour la paix et l’universalisation des droits de l’homme ne s’éteigne. Adieu Sergio ! Repose en paix.!»

Amado Philip de Andrés, UNMIK
« Sergio Vieira de Mello was an inspiration for young and more senior UN staff alike. The devastating bomb explosion that has changed the path of our colleague Sergio from returning to Geneva next month to going to Heaven will certainly pave the way for men and women in the United Nations dedicated to peace-keeping, democracy and human rights to persevere with even greater energy in their endeavors. Sergio, God BlessYour Soul. Saudades.”

Thierry Dodin, Tibet Information Network, London
“It is with stupor and disarray, later than with anger that I read about the tragic assassination of Sergio Vieira de Mello. That this coward act was directed against a man who had come to alleviate the sufferings of the people in Iraq is particularly appalling and revolting for all those who believe in a more human world in which justice would prevail over violence. Eventhough these words will not erase the bitter pain of his family, they should know that Sergio’s memory and his work of decades will remain a monument for human rights.”

Dr. LEE Jong-wook, Director General, World Heath Organization
« Tout au long de sa longue et remarquable carrière, Sergio a mis au service de ceux qui avaient le plus besoin de lui ses compétences, sa compassion et sa bonne humeur. Un seul acte de terrorisme prive ainsi le peuple iraquien et les peuples de tous les pays d’un ardent défenseur et d’un homme hors pair. Il manquera cruellement à tous. »

No Peace Without Justice
The killing of Sergio Vieira De Mello and other UN personnel in Baghdad, clearly represent a war crime, as defined under article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Antonella Notari, porte-parole CICR
Nous avons tous beaucoup pensé à vous, nos collègues au Bureau du Haut Commissaire, ici au service de presse du CICR. Avec une énorme de tristesse et aussi avec une grande colère contre cette terrible violence par laquelle M. De Mello et ses collègues nous ont été arrachés.

Richard Werly, Le Temps
Je tenais simplement à vous dire, au nom du service international du "Temps" toutes nos affectueuses pensées en ces moments difficiles. Sergio avait toujours été pour "Le Temps" un impeccable partenaire et interlocuteur. Il nous manquera, croyez le bien, autant qu'à vous et à ses autres proches collaborateurs.

Human Rights Watch
Sergio was not only an accomplished diplomat, but a true humanitarian, it is tragic he should end up the victim of the kind of war crime he fought so hard to prevent."
"Sergio's assignment to Iraq showed his unique ability to get things done. At a time when many people disparage the United Nations, he demonstrated its capacity to make a difference on the ground."

Développement et Paix
Développement et Paix déplore la mort tragique de Sergio Vieira de Mello, le représentant spécial de l'ONU en Irak, lors d'un attentat perpétré ce matin contre les bâtiments de l'ONU à Bagdad.
Développement et Paix, une des seules ONG canadiennes à oeuvrer au Timor oriental, a pu constater le courage et la détermination de monsieur de Mello, alors Administrateur transitoire des Nations Unies au Timor oriental.

Renaud Charles, journaliste au Monde
A l'autre bout de la Turquie, la nouvelle de l'attentat de Bagdad vient de me parvenir. Je souhaitais vous faire part de toute mon émotion et de ma tristesse face à ce terrible événement.

Juilana Schiavo, United States
I am heartbroken by the loss of your High Commissioner. I did not know this man but feel that we have lost a great person. The United Nations as an organization has done so much for the world and I truly appreciate everyone's work there. I will be saddened by this for some time. My sincerest condolences go out to his wonderful family. I'm just heartbroken.

Norodom Ranariddh, President of the National Assembly of Cambodia
I have known Mr. Sergio de Mello personally since he was working here in Cambodia during the 1992-1993 U.N. Peace Keeping Operation. He was a wonderful man -a man who has rendered outstanding services to the suffering people of Cambodia. He was loved and admired by many of his colleagues and known here in Cambodia as a smiling U.N. Representative on Humanitarian Affairs. His warm heart and charisma had captured the love and admiration of all the people who had known him. The world has lost a great man -a man who wanted nothing else but to serve the suffering people in the world.
This terrible act of terrorism must not go unpunished. I wish to join other world leaders and you in particular, Mr. Secretary -General, to condemn this violent act of cowardice that caused the loss of many innocent lives. Those who committed this horrible crime must be caught and be brought to justice.

Norodom Sihanouk, Roi du Cambodge
Votre haut Représentant, S.E. Sergio Viera de Mello, est un véritable Héros de l’Humanité. Au nom de l’ONU, il avait aidé et servi avec une abnégation, une grande efficacité, un dénouement sans borne, sans chercher aucun avantage personnel, aucune gloire, tant de Pays et de Peuples dans le monde, y compris le Cambodge et son Peuple. Il m’avait spontanément accordé son amitié et son estime. Notre si belle et affectueuse amitié sera toujours chérie en mon cœur et mon esprit.

Samson Kaunga Ndanyi ( Kenya)
Sergio, you did a lot for the world more than you did for your family. I did not know you and you didn't know me either. But, your tragic death, caused by a few barbaric individuals who harbour hatred in their hearts ignited a light within me that will be hard to put off. I read your profile. It inspired me. Sleep brother. I promise I will carry from where you left.
God bless

Isabel Pallares, former OHCHR intern
I worked as an intern last summer at the OHCHR. I remember speaking with another of Sergio Vieira de Mello's colleagues who described to me his adventures with Sergio as an intern. It was hard for me to imagine a man that I admired so much being a mere intern. His first day at the OHCHR, Sergio actually sat down in the cafe and had a coffee with the rest of the staff. This was something that we were not used to seeing, the High Commissioner sipping coffee with the rest of us. I liked him instantly. He had a presence about him that exuded confidence and pride yet he was very approachable at the same time. His charm was apparent from the first moment he spoke. I have never heard someone master so many languages with the ease and grace of a native.
I shook his hand on the last day of my internship. When I left Geneva, Sergio de Mello had only just begun his mission, yet I had no doubt that the OHCHR was in the best of hands I had nothing but hope for the organization. He is a man who will be remembered and honored for the good that he did for the international community and for the protection of human rights around the world. I will miss him as I am sure the entire human rights community will. May the peace that he and others lost their lives to gain be attained.

Peace & Social Justice Program, The Ford Foundation
I know you all must be very sad. We at The Ford Foundation join you in your sorrow and deeply feel the tragic loss of Mr. Vieira de Mello. He offered the world so much through his experience, expertise, and sense of justice. It is truly a terrible loss on so many levels.

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
The death of the UN special envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello is a loss that will be felt throughout the international community. Palestinian civil society welcomed the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s appointment of Mr. Vieira de Mello as his special representative to Iraq and he was also greatly admired for his work as High Commissioner for Human Rights – his permanent position at the UN. Mr. Vieira de Mello was known as a tireless human rights campaigner and respected diplomat, whose convictions and efforts at promoting the universality of human rights will continue to be felt around the globe.

Prof. Hatem Kotrane, Membre CRC
Puissions-nous, peuples du monde entier, honorer la mémoire de Sergio Vieira de Mello et continuer son combat. Pour réapprendre à la jeunesse les valeurs de la liberté, de l’égalité et de la justice. Pour réinventer les principes de la paix, de la solidarité et de l’amitié entre tous les peuples et toutes les nations. Pour permettre aux générations futures d’inscrire éternellement l’humanité dans leur confiance!

Lara Gabriel, former UNHCR and OHCHR colleague
The dream against all odds of one woman to forge the United Nations and the practice of human rights has been your life's task. We can only carry on. With such sorrow, senseless and pure for you - who were truly good. Never forgetting the face and hands behind the politics, their wars, the flight and madness which killed you. We have but that determination we wear as the badge of the United Nations; for that is all we have left of an age when people believed the heart was an organ of goodness; that light was stronger than darkness; that death came to you in your proper time - an age when the dream of Man nearly came true."

Penal Reform International
Sergio Vieira de Mello's death is a great loss for the international human rights community, he whose commitment to peace and human rights is acknowledged and valued by all human rights activists and NGOs.

Swami Agnivesh, Chairperson, UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
I am writing this, on behalf of myself and the Board of Trustees of the UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, to express my shock and sadness at the untimely and violent death of Ambassador Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights in the recent terrorist attack in Baghdad. As a human rights and peace activist, I deem the death of Ambassador Sergio as an irreparable loss to the cause of peace and human rights movement all over the world. Events of this epic magnitude call us to take note of the virus of violence and senseless destruction that is spreading all through the world. It is also an occasion for us to remember with compassion the victims of violence and oppression all over the world for whom Ambassador Sergio laid down his life. The only way we can pay true homage to the life of this great soul is to re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of peace and human rights for all people in our tortured and troubled world.

Francis Deng, Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons
It is extremely rare to find an individual who achieved the level of excellence in virtually all aspects of his work. Sergio Vieira de Mello did. He was outstanding intellectually, charismatic, witty, charming, diplomatic but forthright, courageous and firm. There are really no words to adequately describe this most remarkable man.
His service to humanity through the United Nations, which took him to trouble spots around the world -- Sudan, Cyprus, Mozambique, Peru, Lebanon, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Congo, Kosovo, East Timor and tragically, Iraq -- attest to his dedication to the ideals of this world organization: the search for peace, security and the dignity of the human family.

Tim Sebastian & Carey Clark, HARDtalk, BBC News
Hardtalk and Tim Sebastian met Mr. Vieira de Mello twice in the last couple of years, most recently in April 2003 when we traveled to Geneva to talk to him in his role as UN Commissioner for Human Rights. On both occasions we were all impressed by his honesty and commitment to the United Nations and to the people he served. It was a privilege to meet him and hear his thoughts, and it was clear from the feedback that we received that our views felt the same.
We want to let you know that the thoughts of all the HardTalk team have been with Mr. Vieira de Mello’s family and his many colleagues, who we know will feel his loss very keenly. He was a good and decent man whose contribution to the world will be very much missed.

Bureau du HCDH, République Démocratique du Congo
Tout au long de sa brillante carrière au sein des Nations Unies, Monsieur Sergio Vieira de Mello, comme l’a souligné le Secrétaire Général de l’ONU, a été un remarquable serviteur de l’humanité, toujours prêt à soulager les souffrances de tant d’hommes et de femmes, en les aidant à régler leurs différends et à reconstruire leurs sociétés déchirées par les guerres.

Mukesh Kapila, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sudan
I feel privileged to have served directly with Sergio at the United Nations, and counted him as a personal friend whose courage, diplomacy and intellect were an inspiration to me and to all staff who were lucky enough to have worked with him. Sergio’s death is a severe blow to the UN at a difficult time. All of us in the UN family in the Sudan extend our heartfelt condolences to his friends and family.

Kerry Brogan, former staff member at UNTAET
The death of Sergio, as a former SRSG in Timor, and then as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, weighs heavily on us. We remember his support in establishing a large Human Rights Unit. Sergio was a firm believer in the self-determination of Timor-Leste and always emphasized the importance of building a nation based on respect for human rights.

Emmanuel Decaux
Permettez-moi de vous dire tout simplement que je partage l'émotion et le deuil de la famille des Nations Unies. On ne pouvait rencontrer Sergio Vieira de Mello sans ressentir le charme de sa personnalité chaleureuse et sa force de conviction au service des droits de l'homme, de la justice et de la paix.
Il incarnait ce que les Nations Unies ont de meilleur, l'intelligence, le courage, la générosité, la diplomatie au meilleur sens du terme. Sa perte et celle des femmes et des hommes qui travaillaient à ses côtés, tout comme les dizaines de fonctionnaires ou de casques bleus anonymes qui sont morts au service de l'ONU, sont particulièrement cruelles en ces jours d'incertitude où le monde a plus que jamais besoin des Nations Unies. Il y a quelques jours nous siégions à Genève, au sein de la Sous-Commission des droits de l'homme, sans penser que cette minute de silence qui commence chaque session annuelle allait être aussi pour eux. "Ne demande pas pour qui sonne le glas"...On peut tuer les hommes, on ne peut détruire leur idéal. Sincèrement votre,

Jaap E.Doek Chairperson of the CRC Committee
Words are very poor instruments for the expression of our feelings of sadness and despair about the loss of Mr. Vieira de Mello. We wish you and your office all the strength and wisdom you may need to overcome this loss and to continue with the promotion of human rights around the world.
Sergio was committed to extending the benefits of peace to the whole world. Paradoxically, he died just as he continued to fight for this endeavour. The example he set demands a greater commitment from me personally in furthering his vision of how to create a more peaceful world.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
The meeting with Sergio and his team in Geneva earlier this summer was greatly encouraging for me. We spoke two weeks ago and were making plans for our institutions to work together. I sincerely hope that the collaboration that had begun between us will continue after his passing. This will allow us to pay tribute to the ideals so bravely upheld by Sergio throughout his life.

Antoine Bernard, Directeur exécutif de la FIDH
A la veille des funérailles de Sergio Vieira de Mello, je tenais, avec toute l'équipe de la FIDH, à m'adresser à vous personnellement ainsi qu'à votre équipe.
Comme le Président de la FIDH l'a écrit au Secrétaire Général de l'ONU, le meurtre de Sergio Vieira de Mello et de vos collègues nous a profondément bouleversés.
Il a été souligné à travers le monde combien le symbole des Nations Unies a été durement frappé. Mais nous savons combien le rôle des Nations Unies dépend du talent des femmes et des hommes qui en animent l'action, dans les limites par trop étroites qui leur sont souvent fixées.
Le talent de Sergio Vieira de Mello, sa détermination, sa clairvoyance et son intelligence forçaient notre admiration, tout comme son ouverture et sa convivialité.
Même si nous pouvions n'être pas d'accord sur un point, ce qui était rare, échanger avec lui, comme nous l'avions encore fait à la FIDH voilà quelques mois, était toujours pertinent, utile et stimulant.
Sergio Vieira de Mello était un homme rare et sa disparition est un choc.
Nous voulions vous dire combien nous partageons votre peine, celle de ses collègues et de sa famille, et combien nous nous sentons solidaires dans cette terrible épreuve.
Le plus grand hommage que nous puissions lui rendre, c'est de surmonter la tristesse et le découragement, et d'accomplir notre mission commune pour la paix, la démocratie et le respect de tous les droits pour tous.
Notre détermination et notre mobilisation sont totales, et vous pouvez compter sur la FIDH pour contribuer encore, autant qu'elle le pourra, à notre cause commune, celle à laquelle Sergio et ses collègues ont sacrifié leur vie. Par nos actions, nous honorerons leur mémoire.
( http://www.unhchr.ch/html/hchr/testimonials.htm 2003)

Annie Vieira de Mello _ 2003
"Un homme qui a donné sa vie, pour l'égalité et la paix": interrogée sur RTL, l'épouse de Sergio Vieira de Mello, Annie Vieira de Mello, rend hommage à son mari, le représentant spécial de l'Onu en Irak tué lors de l'attentat du 19 août. Ce Brésilien dont le travail est unanimement salué, a été inhumé à Genève ce jeudi. (...).
"Perpétuer ce pour quoi il s'est battu toute sa vie": (...). C'est un document RTL: Rémi Sulmont a pu joindre au téléphone Annie, la veuve de Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Interview
Annie Vieira de Mello:"Il y a de merveilleux témoignages d'amitié, des personnes qui croyaient en ce qu'il faisait. Pour eux, c'est un exemple. Le plus bel hommage qu'on puisse lui rendre, c'est de perpétuer ce pour quoi il s'est battu toute sa vie. Pour l'égalité, pour la paix, voilà ce pour quoi il a donné sa vie, avec simplicité, avec sincérité".
- Vous aviez parlé avec lui des risques de cette mission?
Annie Vieira de Mello: "Bien sûr mais pour lui il était intouchable. Il estimait que les Nations Unies c'était l'emblème de la paix et qu'il n'y avait aucune raison qu'on touche aux Nations Unies. Il n'avait pas peur d'avoir des relations avec n'importe quel mouvement, quel parti. Le dialogue était ce qu'il y avait de plus important. Il savait respecter tout le monde. Il croyait en ce qu'il faisait, il croyait surtout aux hommes et pensait que les hommes étaient raisonnables". ( http://www.rtl.fr/rtlinfo/irak/article.asp?dicid=144156, consultado em 07/09/2003 ).

VIGIL FOR SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (August 23, 2003). Laurent Vieira de Mello and Adrian Vieira de Mello, sons of Sergio Vieira de Mello, and his wife Annie Vieira de Mello

Laurent Vieira de Mello and Adrien Vieira de Mello _ 2003
"The revolting and incomprehensible attack of August 19 killed our father and many of his colleagues… but his assassins did not really kill him because his legacy and ideals of helping the people of this world will live on in each of us,” said Laurent Vieira de Mello.

Mission Permanente de la France auprès des Nations Unies à Genève - La Légion d’Honneur à Sergio Vieira de Mello _ 2004

Mme Annie Vieira de Mello, l'Ambassadeur M. Bernard Kessedjian, et M. Celso Amorim Ministre brésilien des Affaires étrangères, Genève, le 21 octobre 2004.

En présence d’amis très proches de la famille et de quelques personnalités, dont M. Celso AMORIM, Ministre brésilien des Affaires étrangères, et M. Ruud LUBBERS, Haut-Commissaire aux Réfugiés, une cérémonie a été organisée à la Résidence de France, à Genève, le jeudi 21 octobre 2004, à la mémoire de Sergio VIEIRA DE MELLO.
L’Ambassadeur, M. Bernard KESSEDJIAN, a remis à Mme Annie VIEIRA DE MELLO, en présence de ses deux fils, Laurent et Adrien, les insignes de Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur décernés à titre posthume à Sergio VIEIRA DE MELLO.
L’Ambassadeur a fait l’éloge « de cet enfant de Rio, fils du Brésil, élevé dans la culture française, et qui est devenu le fils adoptif de la France qu’il considérait comme sa seconde patrie ». Il a salué la mémoire d’un « juste, inlassable défenseur des oubliés de la terre et convaincu qu’il est possible de résoudre les problèmes les plus ardus, si l’on tend la main de la solidarité à tous les peuples qui souffrent ».
Link,http://www.delegfrance-onu-geneve.org/kiosque/actualite/ceremonie-vieira.htm, consultado a 22 de Agosto de 2006.

Remise de la bourgeoisie d´honneur de Genève à titre posthume à Monsieur Sergio Vieira de Mello _ 2004.
"La bourgeoisie d´honneur de Genève à titre posthume a été remise aujourd´hui à Sergio Vieira de Mello en hommage au rôle prépondérant qui fut le sien en faveur de la promotion de la paix dans le monde et à son inlassable engagement en faveur des droits de l´homme. La cérémonie de remise de cette bourgeoisie d´honneur s´est déroulée en présence de sa veuve Madame Annie Vieira de Mello et d´un de ses fils, ainsi que du Conseil d´Etat in corpore et du chancelier d´Etat, de Messieurs Pascal Pétroz, président du Grand Conseil, et Sergei Ordzhonikidze, directeur général de l´Office des Nations Unies à Genève, ainsi que de Madame Louise Arbour, Haut Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l´homme. (...)"
Link,http://160.53.186.12/chancellerie/conseil/2001-2005/ppresse/2004_0927.html ,consultado a 22 de Agosto de 2006.