Annan names UN rights chief as Iraq envoy

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has named the UN human rights chief today as his special representative for Iraq, clearing the way for the world body to begin fleshing out its role in Iraqi reconstruction, UN sources said.

Annan was to soon formally announce his choice of veteran UN diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello, 55, for the newly created post in a letter to the UN Security Council, which yesterday adopted a US-drafted plan giving the United Nations a limited but independent role in post-war Iraq alongside occupying powers the United States and Britain, the sources said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq