U.N. Suspending Two During Inquiry Into Bombing in Iraq:
"Two United Nations officials responsible for security at the Baghdad mission when it was bombed in August will be suspended while a team of independent experts determines blame for the security flaws at the mission, a United Nations spokesman said today."

Tun Myat, the top security official for the United Nations, and Ramiro Lopes da Silva, who oversaw security at the Baghdad mission, will remain on paid "special leave" until mid-January, said the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

The announcement coincided with the appointment of a four-person investigative team, led by a retired career United Nations official, that will "determine accountability at all managerial levels at headquarters and in the field" prior to the Aug. 19 attack, the spokesman said.

The investigators, who will be led by Gerald Walzer, former deputy high commissioner for refugees, are expected to report their findings "with the least possible delay," Mr. Dujarric said.

The moves represent the first clear administrative steps taken by Secretary General Kofi Annan in response to a scathing report by another independent investigative panel that said grievous managerial flaws had exposed the United Nations mission in Baghdad to the Aug. 19 attack. The report was released on Oct. 22.

Reading from a statement, the spokesman said Mr. Myat and Mr. Lopes da Silva had "asked to be relieved of their present responsibilities while the team conducts their work." Mr. Myat's suspension was effective on Monday; Mr. Lopes da Silva's suspension will go into effect on Nov. 17, the spokesman said.

Mr. Lopes da Silva was appointed the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq in May 2002 and was also in charge of security for the mission. He took over from Mr. Myat, who became the security coordinator for the United Nations worldwide operations.

After the Aug. 19 bombing, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations special envoy to Iraq, Mr. Lopes da Silva was made acting special envoy.

While not named specifically in the Oct. 22 report, the men oversaw a security management system that a team of investigators called "dysfunctional."

Also today, Mr. Annan announced the membership of a "high-level panel" to study global security threats and recommend how the nations of the world, acting in concert, can address those challenges.

The panel will be led by Anand Panyarachun, former primer minister of Thailand. The 16-member group will also include Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser, and present and former high-level government officials from France, Brazil, Norway, Ghana, Australia, Britain, Uruguay, Egypt, India, Japan, Russia, China, Pakistan and Tanzania.


http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/04/international/middleeast/04CND-NATI.html