Remarks by Antonio Maria Costa
Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna
Vienna
November 26, 2004
There is an old saying . . .
You make a living by what you get . . . but you make a life by what you give.
By these standards, Sergio Vieira De Mello had a spectacular life.
He gave thousands of the worlds citizens hope, encouragement, respect, and the tangible resources they needed to live in peace and dignity.
The Plaque we intend to place here reads:
This meeting room is named in memory of Sergio Vieira De Mello, United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, and Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq, and 21 United Nations Staff Members who died in the course of duty in Baghdad, 19 August 2003.
To say that an individual has died in the line of duty always carries special and powerful connotations.
It means the individual lived for something greater than self.
For something more important than his or her own life.
For values and beliefs that last beyond the moment, the day, or even a single lifetime.
Sergio Vieira De Mello and his colleagues werent soldiers, or police officers, or contractors looking for new business. They werent in Iraq to make some kind of political point they were there to make a difference.
Sergio and his team were killed in the service of universal human rights that was their course of duty. And we salute them.
On 19 August, 2003, I lost a close and valued friend a very rare individual. And the UN all of us - lost 21 of its most courageous and committed men and women.
I know that I am speaking for all of you, as well as for myself, when I say its an honour and a privilege to dedicate this meeting room to these fallen colleagues. They are gone, but we will never forget them.