U.N. plan to raise Iraq staff to 95; Workers oppose, call for withdrawing all staff

Above: In 2003 a bomb tore through part of the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad, killing at least 17 people including the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. The UN withdrew operations from Iraq at the time, and returned later with only a minimal presence.

The United Nations said Tuesday it expects to raise the ceiling for international staff in Iraq from 65 to 95 by October, but the U.N. Staff Council called on the secretary-general to pull all U.N. personnel out of the country until security improves...

Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynne Pascoe told reporters after briefing the council Tuesday that the new mandate being considered by the council would enable the U.N. to work on issues "that clearly need to be done out there" — especially national reconciliation, humanitarian assistance and dealing with the millions of Iraqis who have fled their homes.

"We are on a very strong effort to increase the numbers" of international staff in Iraq, he said. "The current ceiling is 65. I think by the fall, by October, we'll be up to about 95"...

Soon after Pascoe spoke, the U.N. Staff Council, the executive body of the U.N. Staff Union which represents more than 5,000 staff at U.N. headquarters, unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the secretary-general "not to deploy any additional staff members to Iraq and to remove those currently serving ... in Baghdad until such time as the security situation and environment improves."

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

Related Link:
Khalilzad: U.S. wants U.N. mediator for Iraq

Related Link:
UN Secretary General Ban: 'Any abrupt withdrawal or decision may lead to a further deterioration of the situation in Iraq'

Related Link:
UN Secretary General Ban: Iraq won't be a topic in meeting with Bush; 'I do not want to inject myself in issues of Iraq'

Related Link:
Report: UN Secretary General Ban praises 'sacrifices' made by U.S. in Iraq; Says U.S. 'played a considerable part in the stabilization of Iraq'

Related Link:
U.N. closes down hunt for Iraqi WMD, issues report saying inspections showing no WMD before war were accurate

Related Link:
UN: Refugees now total 4 million, including 2 million 'internally displaced'; 10 of 18 Iraqi governorates rejecting refugees

Related Link:
UN: 37,641 held in U.S. and Iraqi prisons; 3,000 since 'crackdown', many without warrant, charges or trial

Related Link:
U.N.: 34,000 Iraqis killed in violence in 2006