Sergio Vieira de Mello was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1948, and studied there and in the Sorbonne, Paris. His distinguished career at the United Nations included roles as humanitarian coordinator in post-genocide Rwanda (1996), special representative in Kosovo (1999), leader of UN operations in East Timor (2000), and head of the United Nations High Comissioner for Human Rights (2002). He was working as the UN special representative in Iraq when, along with respected UN colleagues and others, he was killed in Baghdad in August 2003.

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The death of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations special representative in Iraq, robs the world of a calm voice of reason, humanity, and deep intelligence precisely when these qualities are most needed. In tribute, openDemocracy publishes his 11 November 2002 lecture on the universal character of human dignity.

(This article was first published on 24 August 2003)