Thursday, August 19, 2010, marked the 7th anniversary of the bombing of the UN compound in Iraq in 2003. (For an account of the 2007 memorial service see “UN’s Iraq Bombing Survivors Hold Memorial Service”)

This bombing in 2003 resulted in the death of 22 UN staff members including the UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vierira de Mello.

This year, the UN headquarters in NYC scheduled a short memorial to mark the occasion. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, lay a wreath in remembrance of those killed, followed by one minute of silence. The focus on this anniversary at UN headquarters, however, was on what is called World Humanitarian Day, a day marking the activities of humanitarian workers in general.

This was a change in focus from a day of reflection and memorial marking the 2003 loss of life and the importance of what this represents to the UN… weiter lesen