In memory of Rick Hooper

UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL MESSAGE FOR MEMORIAL SERVICE HONOURING VICTIMS OF THE BOMBING OF THE UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN IRAQ

Delivered by Under Secretary-General Terje Roed-Larsen

Oslo, 28 August 2003

Your Majesty. Royal Highness, Mr. Prime Minister, your eminence, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, has asked me to deliver the following words on his behalf:

Allow me to thank Norway for holding this ceremony. It is fitting that you should do so, for Norway is a leading champion of the peacemaking and humanitarian principles of the United Nations -- the very principles at the heart of the mission in Baghdad.

Many of us will remember the 19th of August 2003 as the darkest day in our lives at the United Nations. The attack on the UN mission in Baghdad will resonate in our consciousness for as long as we live. We have seen images of colleagues carried out on stretchers from a UN headquarters in ruins. In our minds' eye, we see the same colleagues as we remember them: dynamic men and women, full of hope and laughter, of compassion; above all, of determination to help the Iraqi people rebuild their country and their State.

All this leaves us bewildered and numb. We, whose work is so wrapped up in the tragedies of others, now face one of our own. It is a loss almost impossible to take in. These colleagues were not only at the peak of their careers, but in the very prime of life. Some of them leave behind young families. All of them leave behind a great void. If people need an example of the United Nations family at its best and its brightest, at its most committed and most courageous, they have only to look at the men and women who perished in the Canal Hotel.

Whether clerical worker, lawyer, driver or special representative, Iraqi or international, each of these men and women made a unique and invaluable contribution to our work. Each was committed to the human rights, sovereignty and well-being of the Iraqi people. And many had served the needs of other peoples, too.

Each braved hardships, set aside longings for home or for a quiet life, and conquered their fears in order to help others overcome an era of terrible suffering. Each showed the world the caring, principled face of the international civil service. Each gave us something to be proud of.

Such qualities were embodied in their leader, and my close friend, Sergio Vieira de Mello. His loss cannot be fathomed. The people of Mozambique, of Lebanon, of Cambodia, of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the Congo, of Kosovo -- of many countries, on almost every continent, and perhaps most of all the people of Timor Leste - will remember Sergio as one who was there to help them in their hour of greatest need, to relieve human suffering and to champion human rights. I believe the people of Iraq, too, will look back on him with gratitude.

We shall find a way to continue the work of Sergio and his colleagues. I remain confident that in time they will find a fitting memorial in a free, peaceful and stable Iraq - the cause for which they gave their lives.

With the permission of the Secretary-General, I would like to add a few personal words about the loss of one particular colleague and friend. Rick Hooper, a US citizen, was serving as Special Assistant and Chief of Staff to Sir Kieran Prendergast, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs in New York. He had been in Baghdad on a brief assignment for only four days when he was savagely murdered. He would have proceeded from Iraq to assist my mission in Jerusalem, before taking a week's break in Norway. Rick loved Norway and spoke Norwegian fluently.

Rick started his UN career in 1990, when his interest and passion for the Arab world took him to the Gaza Strip. He was twice my Special Assistant. Before that, he served UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. He also worked right here in Oslo, helping to establish the program for international cooperation and conflict resolution at FAFO. For long periods, he assisted the Norwegian Foreign Ministry on Middle East affairs.

I remember when Sir Keiran asked me if I had a candidate to be his Special Assistant. I responded without hesitation: "I reserve the word brilliant only for Einstein. Rick Hooper is the exception". And of course, Rick became a centre of gravity at UN Headquarters.

Rick had the most penetrating and powerful intellect I have ever encountered. He was a rare grand master of both the massive bureaucratic challenges of the UN and of its intricate political and diplomatic tasks. The fastest writer. The stealthiest actor. He was both the organization's sharpest critic and its staunchest defender.

Rick was a many-layered person. He was a dynamo of focused energy and enthusiasm. He passionately cared for his friends - a fact many in this Cathedral can bear witness to. He was cool-headed, combining a frivolous creativeness with stringent discipline.

Rick was one of a kind. He was unique. He is irreplaceable. Not only in the United Nations, but also in the hearts of his friends and family.

Rick had no patience for sentimentality. His wish today would have been for his colleagues to carry on. And we will! Inspired by his dedication, which was born of a deep and unwavering commitment to advancing the causes of social justice and peace.

Let us today, in his spirit, rededicate ourselves to the principals he so steadfastly championed.

My friend Rick, you will be so deeply missed.

* * *