UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan said today he would name an independent team to pinpoint those responsible for security lapses that led to 22 deaths in the August bombing of UN offices in Baghdad.
In an open letter to UN staff, he also ordered a "strategic reorganization" of security management to be led by Deputy Secretary-General Ms Louise Frechette.
She heads a group that was blamed in a recent report for blurring the chain of command on security issues. Mr Annan was responding to a report from an independent panel, headed by Mr Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, which concluded that the UN security system was dysfunctional in high-risk crisis zones.
It said that adequate security arrangements would have reduced casualties in the bomb attack against UN headquarters in Baghdad on Aug. 19 that killed 22 UN staff and guests and injured 150 others.
Ms Frechette, a Canadian with a reputation for efficiency, headed a steering group of senior officials on Iraq. The Ahtisaari report said this group had competing interests and "blurred the chain of command in terms of security management." But UN spokeswoman Ms Marie Okabe said, "The current security system is under the responsibility of deputy secretary-general and it is natural that it will be done under her leadership."
Mr Annan in the letter said he deeply regretted systematic failures the report revealed and promised to review "the serious weaknesses that have been revealed in management of our security system." In addition to the security review by Ms Frechette, Mr Annan said, "I am appointing an independent team of experts to review the responsibilities of key individuals for the lack of preventive and mitigating actions before the attack on August 19th."
The bombing prompted the United Nations to drastically reduce staff, despite calls from many nations that it play a major role in ushering a new government to democratic rule.