SG/SM/10011
IK/505
20 July 2005

Secretary-General Condemns Killings in Iraq of Constitutional Drafting Commission Member, Adviser

NEW YORK, 19 July (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General has learned with shock and dismay of the assassination today of Mr. Mijbil Sheikh al-Issa, a member of the Constitutional Drafting Commission of the Transitional National Assembly of Iraq.  An adviser to the Commission, Mr. Dahmen al-Jabouri, was also tragically killed in the same attack.  The Secretary-General notes that Mr. Issa was one of the 15 Sunni representatives who had recently joined the Commission with the purpose of drafting a new constitution through an inclusive process that is responsive to the needs of all Iraqi constituencies.

The Secretary-General strongly condemns this criminal act and hopes that it will not deter the Constitutional Commission from completing its important task on time.

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