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UN to extend Iraq mission
With a new UN envoy expected in Baghdad shortly, Security Council members have reached agreement on the text of a resolution that will extend the mission for a year.
With a new UN envoy expected in Baghdad shortly, Security Council members have reached an agreement on the text of a resolution that will extend the UN mission in Iraq for a year.
The Council has scheduled a vote on the resolution for Thursday morning.
The brief draft resolution reaffirms "that the United Nations should play a leading role in assisting the Iraqi people and government in the formation of institutions for representative government."
But Secretary-General Kofi Annan made clear to the Council in a report that the United Nations will remain "a high-value" target for attacks in Iraq for the foreseeable future, which will severely limit the number of UN staff allowed in the country.
How significant a role the world body can play, operating mainly from outside Iraq, remains to be seen.
The draft resolution says the Security Council will review the mandate of the UN mission in 12 months or sooner if requested by the Iraqi government.
Annan's new envoy, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi of Pakistan, is expected to take up his post in Baghdad this week with a small team, giving the United Nations an official presence in Iraq for the first time since October.
The Secretary-General ordered all UN international staff to leave then following two bombings at UN headquarters in Baghdad and a spate of attacks on humanitarian workers. The first bombing on August 19, 2003 killed the last UN envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 others.
