S/PV.4811 Security Council

As members are all aware, this meeting has been convened following a particularly tragic set of events. May I invite all participants to stand and observe a minute of silence in tribute to the memory of the United Nations personnel and all others who were killed in Baghdad in the pursuit of peace and recovery for Iraq, as well as to express our deep solidarity with all United Nations personnel and all humanitarian workers in the field everywhere.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council unequivocally condemns the terrorist attack that took place on 19 August 2003 against the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad and thereby against the international community as a whole, causing numerous deaths and injuries among international personnel and Iraqi people. “The Security Council condemns also in the strongest terms the perpetrators of such attack and underlines the need to bring them to justice. “The Security Council pays tribute and expresses its deepest admiration to all those among the United Nations personnel who have lost their lives or have been injured in the service of the United Nations and of the Iraqi people, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello. “The Security Council expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families. “The Security Council reaffirms the imperative to respect, in all circumstances, the safety and security of United Nations personnel and the need for adequate security measures to be taken in this regard. “The Security Council reaffirms its determination to assist the Iraqi people to build peace and justice in their country and to determine their own political future by themselves. It welcomes in this regard the determination of the United Nations to continue its operation in Iraq to fulfil its mandate in the service of the Iraqi people, and will not be intimidated by such attacks.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2003/13. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.