UN: "We will not be reckless"

Shashi Tharoor insists the UN will not bow to intimidation.

In a HARDtalk interview on 6 October, Lyse Doucet spoke to UN Undersecretary General, Shashi Tharoor.

United Nations Undersecretary General Shashi Tharoor has defended his organisation's decision to withdraw most of its staff from Iraq, following two suicide bombings.

In an interview with HARDtalk's Lyse Doucet, Mr Tharoor said the UN would not be intimidated, but "we will not be reckless either."

We remain engaged in Iraq and committed to Iraq Shashi Tharoor

The UN is withdrawing its international staff from Iraq, following the 19th August suicide bombing at UN headquarters in which 22 people died, and a further suicide attack on 22nd September, which killed an Iraqi police officer near the UN building.

A commitment to Iraq

Shashi Tharoor told Lyse Doucet that the timing of a UN return to Iraq depended on the judgement of experts on the ground, but he said the UN's commitment to Iraq was not diminished:

"We remain engaged in Iraq and committed to Iraq but we want to be able to do our work in conditions in which our staff can make a difference."

With a new draft resolution on Iraq expected at any time, Mr Tharoor said the UN would have to wait and see what any new resolution might achieve:

"If it seeks to encourage a political framework that will encourage other countries who currently do not support the coalition to come in and offer their support, whether it's financial support, military support or other support, then the resolution could have been said to have made a real difference."

Increased security

At a time of increased scrutiny of the UN, Mr Tharoor defended the "unique legitimacy" of the Security Council.

He said, "The difference between a coalition of the willing and a Security Council decision is the distinction between a posse and a police squad. There are things you can achieve with a posse in the Wild West and there are things you need a police squad for in the real world."

On the vexed issue of UN Security Council reform Shashi Tharoor says real progress will be made within a year. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has announced a panel of eminent persons, to try and move forward the ten-year old process of reforming the Council's membership.

"We believe that we could see in the next year's General Assembly session a very serious decision process on this kind of reform."

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