View source for Sérgio Vieira de Mello

{{Short description|Brazilian UN diplomat and humanitarian aid officer (1948–2003)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Sérgio Vieira de Mello
| residence           = 
| other_names         = 
| image               = Sérgio Vieira de Mello.jpg
| image_size          = 200px
| caption             = Vieira de Mello {{circa|2002}}
| birth_name          = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1948|3|15}}
| birth_place         = [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|2003|8|19|1948|3|15}}
| death_place         = [[Baghdad]], Iraq
| death_cause         = Killed in the [[Canal Hotel bombing]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Annie Personnaz|1973|1986|end=sep}}
| partner             = Carolina Larriera (2001–2003)
| children            = 2
| alma_mater          = [[Federal University of Rio de Janeiro]]<br>[[University of Paris]] ([[University of Paris|Sorbonne]])<br>[[University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne|University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne]]
| office              = 3rd [[United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]
| term_start          = 12 September 2002
| term_end            = 19 August 2003
| predecessor         = [[Mary Robinson]]
| successor           = [[Bertrand Ramcharan]] (acting)
| office1             = [[Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor|East Timor UN Transitional Administrator]]
| term_start1         = 25 October 1999
| term_end1           = 20 May 2002
| predecessor1        = [[José Abílio Osório Soares]]<br />(as [[East Timor (Indonesian province)#Governors|Governor of East Timor]])
| successor1          = [[Xanana Gusmão]]<br />(as [[President of East Timor]])
| awards              = [[Order of the Two Niles]] (1973)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Power |first=Samantha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSONt9sOc9EC&dq=%22Order+of+the+Two+Niles%22&pg=PT6 |title=Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World |date=2011-10-06 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-0-14-192110-5 |language=en}}</ref>
}}

'''Sérgio Vieira de Mello''' ({{IPA|pt|ˈsɛʁʒju viˈejɾɐ dʒi ˈmɛlu}}; 15 March 1948 – 19 August 2003) was a Brazilian [[United Nations]] diplomat who worked on several UN [[humanitarian]] and political programs for over 34 years. The Government of Brazil posthumously awarded the Sergio Vieira de Mello Medal to honor his legacy in promoting sustainable peace, [[international security]] and better [[habitability|living conditions]] for individuals in situations of armed conflict, challenges to which Sérgio Vieira de Mello had dedicated his life and career.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-BR/notas-a-imprensa/13715-medalha-sergio-vieira-de-mello|title=Medalha Sergio Vieira de Mello|date=1 April 2016|access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref>

He was killed in the [[Canal Hotel bombing]] in [[Iraq]] along with 20 other members of his staff on 19 August 2003 while working as [[UN High Commissioner for Human Rights]], with the rank of [[Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations|Under-Secretary-General]], and [[United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq|United Nations Special Representative for Iraq]]. Before his death, he was considered a likely candidate for [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|UN Secretary-General]].

== Early life, education, and early career ==
Vieira de Mello was born in [[Rio de Janeiro]] to the diplomat Arnaldo Vieira de Mello and his wife Gilda dos Santos on 15 March 1948.<ref name="Power_19"/> He had an older sister, Sônia, who suffered schizophrenia throughout her adult life.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Power |first1=Samantha |title=Sergio: One Man's Fight to Save the World |date=30 March 2010 |publisher=Penguin Books |url=https://www.amazon.com/Sergio-Mans-Fight-Save-World-ebook/dp/B0035APW6E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2X6JD295P3AZR&dchild=1&keywords=samantha+power+sergio&qid=1586923234&sprefix=Samantha+Power%2Caps%2C396&sr=8-3 |access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref> Vieira de Mello was interested in rocket science as a child.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVjbVRHb48k |title=Remembering Sergio Vieira de Mello 19-Aug-2008 |date=2008-08-19 |last=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2025-07-19 |via=YouTube}}</ref> The family followed Arnaldo's diplomatic postings, such that Sérgio spent his early years in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Genoa]], [[Milan]], [[Beirut]] and [[Rome]].<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|pp=16–17}}</ref> 

In 1965, he was studying [[philosophy]] at the [[Federal University of Rio de Janeiro]], but since classes were frequently disrupted by strikes, he opted to continue his education in Europe.<ref name="Power_19">{{harvp|Power|2008|p=16}}</ref> He continued at the [[University of Paris]], where he studied [[philosophy]] under [[Vladimir Jankélévitch]].<ref name="Power_19" /> While there, he stayed at an apartment at the Maison de l’Argentine, the student housing at the [[Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris]] dedicated to students with families from Latin America.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maison de l'Argentine |url=https://www.ciup.fr/fondation-argentine/ |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref> 

He participated in the [[1968 student riots]] in Paris against the [[Charles de Gaulle]] government, and was hit in the head by a police baton, causing a permanent disfigurement above his right eye.<ref name="Power_19" /> He also wrote a letter published in the French leftist journal ''Combat'' in support of the riots, which made his return to Brazil, at this stage a [[Military dictatorship in Brazil|military dictatorship]], potentially dangerous.<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|p=20}}</ref> Thus, after graduating from the Sorbonne in 1969, he moved to [[Geneva]] to stay with a family friend, and found his first job as an editor at the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR).<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|p=22}}</ref>

Early in his career, he also completed an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in [[moral philosophy]] and a [[PhD]] by correspondence from the Sorbonne.<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|pp=25–31}}</ref> His doctorate thesis, submitted in 1974, was entitled ''The Role of Philosophy in Contemporary Society''.<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|p=31}}</ref> In 1985, he submitted a second "state" doctorate, the highest degree in the French education system, entitled ''Civitas Maxima: Origins, Foundations and Philosophical and Political Significance of the Supranationality Concept''.<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|p=71}}</ref> In addition to his native Portuguese, Vieira de Mello was fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, and French, along with conversational knowledge of local languages of the countries he was stationed in,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hartwell |first=Leon |date=2016-10-17 |title=The Diplomat and the Drunken Guard: Negotiation Lessons from Sergio Vieira de Mello |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/nejo.12162 |journal=Negotiation Journal |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=325–333 |doi=10.1111/nejo.12162 |issn=0748-4526|url-access=subscription }}</ref> such as Arabic and [[Tetum language|Tetum]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-08-19 |title=Remembering Sergio {{!}} New Straits Times |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/remembering-sergio |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=NST Online |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=One Man's Legacy in East Timor |url=https://thediplomat.com/2013/08/one-mans-legacy-in-east-timor/ |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-06-28 |title=East Timor: Presentation to the National Council by Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Transitional Administrator - Timor-Leste {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/east-timor-presentation-national-council-sergio-vieira-de-mello-special |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref>

== UN career ==
From UNHCR, Vieira de Mello moved to the field in [[Bangladesh]] during its [[Bangladesh War of Independence|War of Independence]] in 1971, and [[Sudan]] in 1972 following the [[Addis Ababa Agreement (1972)|Addis Ababa agreement]] that ended the [[First Sudanese Civil War]] and allowed the return of some 650,000 Sudanese refugees and displaced persons,<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|pp=26–27}}</ref> and [[Cyprus]] after the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Turkish invasion]] in 1974.<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|pp=25–33}}</ref>

These early assignments were operational, rather than political; he was helping to organize food aid, shelter and other types of aid to refugees. Vieira de Mello remained in the field, with a posting in [[Mozambique]] to assist refugees fleeing white rule and civil war in [[Zimbabwe]] (at the time, still [[Rhodesia]]) where he was deputy head of the office. Due to the absence of his boss, he was effectively running the mission.<ref>{{harvp|Power|2008|pp=26 (Bangladesh), 27 (Sudan), 31 (Cyprus) & 32 (Mozambique)}}</ref>

Vieira de Mello spent three years in charge of UNHCR operations in Mozambique during the [[Mozambican Civil War|civil war]] that followed its independence from Portugal in 1975, and three more years in [[Peru]]. Vieira de Mello also served as Special Envoy for the UNHCR for [[Cambodia]], being the first and only UN Representative to hold talks with the [[Khmer Rouge]]. He became a senior political adviser to the [[United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon]] between 1981 and 1983. In 1985, he returned to Latin America to serve as head of the Argentina office in Buenos Aires.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fundacionacnur.org/inicio|title=Fundación ACNUR Argentina &#124; Agencia de la ONU para refugiados|website=Fundación ACNUR Argentina|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref>

He spent the 1990s involved in the clearing of [[land mine]]s in Cambodia, and then in [[Yugoslavia]]. After working on the refugee problem in central Africa, he was made Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees in 1996 and became [[Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator]] two years later. He would hold this position simultaneously with others until January 2001. 

On 11 June 1999, he was appointed [[Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo]] (SRSGK) in the acting capacity, and thus became the first chief of the [[United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo]] (UNMIK), that was established on 10 June 1999, by the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244]]. His term in [[UN administered Kosovo|Kosovo]] (autonomous province in [[Serbia]], within the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]) ended already on 14 July 1999, when [[Bernard Kouchner]] was appointed as SRSGK in the full capacity.<ref>[https://unmik.unmissions.org/srsgs UNMIK: Special Representatives of the Secretary-General for Kosovo]</ref>

Vieira de Mello was instrumental in dealing with the issue of [[Tanka people|boat people]] in [[Hong Kong]]. In mid-2000, he visited [[Fiji]] together with [[Don McKinnon]], the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]' Secretary-General, in an attempt to assist in finding a negotiated settlement to the hostage situation, in which Fiji's [[Prime Minister of Fiji|Prime Minister]] and other members of [[Parliament of Fiji|Parliament]] were kidnapped and held as hostages during the [[2000 Fijian coup d'état]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s130838.htm|title=AM Archive – Fiji Chiefs' decision still unknown|website=www.abc.net.au|access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref>

Before becoming the [[UN High Commissioner for Human Rights]] in 2002, he was the UN Transitional Administrator in [[East Timor]] from December 1999 to May 2002, guiding the former [[Indonesia]]'s 27th province to independence.

In May 2003 Vieira de Mello was appointed as the Special Representative of the [[United Nations Secretary-General|UN Secretary-General]] to Iraq, an appointment initially intended to last for four months. According to ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' journalist [[James Traub]] in his book ''The Best Intentions'', Vieira de Mello turned down the appointment three times before [[Kofi Annan]] was pressured by US President [[George W. Bush]] and [[Condoleezza Rice]]. According to [[Samantha Power]] in her book ''Sérgio: One Man's Fight to Save the World'', Vieira de Mello met Bush at a meeting in March 2003, at which the two men discussed the human rights situation in the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]], a controversial issue for the United States. In June 2003, Vieira de Mello was part of a team responsible for inspecting [[Abu Ghraib prison]] before it was rebuilt.<ref>{{harvp|Gourevitch|Morris|2008|p=34}}</ref>

==Death==
{{main|Canal Hotel bombing}}
[[File:Sergio Vieira de Mello DF-SD-04-02189.JPEG|thumb|U.S. soldiers placing Vieira de Mello's casket into an SUV.]]
Vieira de Mello was working as a United Nations Special Representative for Iraq when he was killed in the [[Canal Hotel bombing]].<ref name=":1">[[Samantha Power]] (2008). Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World. Allen Lane. p. 4. {{ISBN|1-59420-128-5}}</ref> [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]], a leader of the [[al-Qaeda]] terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the blast.<ref>Benson, Pam, "[http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/07/zarqawi.tape/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD CIA: Zarqawi tape 'probably authentic'] ", ''CNN World'', 7 April 2004.</ref> A communiqué from al-Qaeda said that de Mello was assassinated because he had helped East Timor become an independent state, thereby stealing territory from the [[Caliphate|Islamic caliphate]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/10/don-t-bother-looking-for-explanations-for-terrorist-attacks.html|title=Don't bother looking for explanations for terrorist attacks.|first=Christopher|last=Hitchens|date=3 October 2005|website=Slate Magazine|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref>

He had been mentioned in some circles as a suitable candidate for [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|UN Secretary-General]].{{sfn|Power|2008|p=8}} His death was widely mourned, largely on account of his reputation for effectively working to promote peace. Vieira de Mello had previously stated that he wished to be buried in Rio de Janeiro, his hometown, and the place he lived for 34&nbsp;years. However, his body was taken away from Brazil and he was buried at the [[Cimetière des Rois]] in Geneva, Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 August 2003 |title=Desaire de Lula a Bush por el ataque a De Mello |url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/el-mundo/desaire-de-lula-a-bush-por-el-ataque-a-de-mello-nid520837 |publisher=[[La Nacion]]}}</ref> Vieira was honoured in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro where he was given a state funeral with full military honors. His funeral was attended by President [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]] and other international dignitaries. He was survived by his two sons, Adrien and Laurent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sergiovdmfoundation.org/the-foundation/structure/|title=Structure of the Foundation – Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1973, Vieira de Mello met and married Annie Personnaz, a French staff member at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, with whom he had two sons, Laurent and Adrien.<ref name=":1" /> They lived in the French town of [[Thonon-les-Bains]], before moving a few years later to a permanent home in the French village of [[Massongy]], near the Geneva border.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Power|first=Samantha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSONt9sOc9EC&q=annie+personnaz&pg=PT44|title=Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World|date=6 October 2011|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-0-14-192110-5|language=en}}</ref> The couple separated before Vieira de Mello's death, with a divorce lawsuit filed on 9 January 2003, which was never executed.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=Ordonnance de Non Conciliation|url=http://c0650204.ferozo.com/wp-content/uploads/Ordonnance%20de%20NonConciliation%20with%20ENGLISH%20Translation.pdf|publisher=Tribunal de Grande Instance de Thonon Les Bains}}</ref> 

From 2001 onwards, he was in a relationship with [[:pt:Carolina_Larriera|Carolina Larriera]], whom he had met in East Timor where she worked as part of the General Service support staff of the UN mission.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 August 2018 |title=La batalla que la pareja de comisionado de DDHH le ganó a la ONU |agency=The Clinic |url=https://www.theclinic.cl/2018/08/30/la-batalla-que-la-pareja-de-comisionado-de-ddhh-le-gano-a-la-onu/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=19 August 2018 |title=Uma voz para as vítimas |agency=O Globo |url=https://oglobo.globo.com/opiniao/uma-voz-para-as-vitimas-22989026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=19 August 2018|title=Uma voz para as vítimas|agency=Publico|url=https://www.publico.pt/2018/08/19/mundo/opiniao/uma-voz-para-as-vitimas-1841370}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=18 October 2017|title=Carolina Larriera quebra o silêncio após 14 anos de injustiças|agency=Claudia|url=https://claudia.abril.com.br/noticias/carolina-larriera/}}</ref> Viera de Mello presented Larriera as his fiancée privately and in official events.'''<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last1=Power |first1=Samantha |url=https://www.amazon.com/Sergio-Mans-Fight-Save-World-ebook/dp/B0035APW6E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2X6JD295P3AZR&dchild=1&keywords=samantha+power+sergio&qid=1586923234&sprefix=Samantha+Power%2Caps%2C396&sr=8-3 |title=Sergio: One Man's Fight to Save the World |date=30 March 2010 |accessdate=15 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=CSVM |first=Centro Sérgio Vieira de Mello |date= 21 May 2020|title=Sergio Vieira de Mello and Carolina Larriera with King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8AH0CqeaZ8 |access-date= |website=Youtube}}</ref>''' The couple intended to return to Switzerland after the mission in Iraq, where he would be reinstalled as High Commissioner for Human Rights. Sergio planned to marry Carolina as soon as he got officially divorced, and thereafter establish a home and family in Switzerland.'''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Hilde F. |date=2020-07-14 |title=The legacy of Sergio |url=https://wsimag.com/economy-and-politics/62784-the-legacy-of-sergio |access-date=2020-08-25 |website=Wall Street International |language=en}}</ref>'''

Carolina was summoned by Sergio to work alongside him in Iraq, and was at the Canal Hotel at the day of the bombing.<ref name=":03">{{cite book |last1=Power |first1=Samantha |url=https://www.amazon.com/Sergio-Mans-Fight-Save-World-ebook/dp/B0035APW6E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2X6JD295P3AZR&dchild=1&keywords=samantha+power+sergio&qid=1586923234&sprefix=Samantha+Power%2Caps%2C396&sr=8-3 |title=Sergio: One Man's Fight to Save the World |date=30 March 2010 |accessdate=15 April 2020}}</ref> However, the UN did not recognize Larriera as Vieira de Mello's partner. She claimed that she was excluded from the list of survivors of the Canal Hotel bombing, and her comments were not taken into account in the report regarding the attack.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Larriera|first=Carolina|date=2020-08-16|title=The United Nations is in danger of losing its sense of purpose {{!}} Carolina Larriera|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/16/united-nations-purpose-bombing-baghdad|access-date=2020-08-25|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Carolina moved to Rio de Janeiro and lived with Vieira de Mello's mother.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memory |url=https://carolinalarriera.com/memory/ |access-date=2020-08-25 |website=Carolina Larriera |date=27 September 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Annie still lives in France, and has co-founded a Swiss charity, the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Foundation, with his two sons and close friends and colleagues to honor his name and memory.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Power |first1=Samantha |url=https://www.amazon.com/Sergio-Mans-Fight-Save-World-ebook/dp/B0035APW6E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2X6JD295P3AZR&dchild=1&keywords=samantha+power+sergio&qid=1586923234&sprefix=Samantha+Power%2Caps%2C396&sr=8-3 |title=Sergio |date=20 January 2010 |publisher=Penguin Books |asin=B0035APW6E}}</ref> 

==Awards and recognition==
Vieira de Mello received several posthumous awards and honours, chief of which was the [[Legion d'honneur]], France's highest honor, given to his widow and two sons in Geneva. He was also awarded the [[Order of Rio Branco]], the highest honor from the Government of Brazil to be given to a citizen, the Pedro Ernesto Medal, the highest honor in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, in 2003. In April 2004, Sérgio Vieira de Mello was posthumously awarded the "Statesman of the Year Award" by the [[EastWest Institute]]. In 2003 he received the [[United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights]]<ref name=Recipients1968to2003>{{cite web |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/newsevents/pages/hrprizelistofpreviousrecipients.aspx |title=The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights {{!}} List of previous recipients |work=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights]] |access-date=19 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702223227/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/HRPrizeListofpreviousrecipients.aspx |archive-date=2 July 2021}}</ref> and, in 2004, he received the [[Pax Christi International Peace Award]].

Following the initiative of the Villa Decius Association, the ''Polish Prize of Sérgio Vieira de Mello'' was established in the year 2003 to promote human rights, democracy, and tolerance and had its first edition in 2004.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110403062543/http://www.villa.org.pl/index.php/en/sergio-vieira-de-mello-prize] Polish Prize of Sergio Vieira de Mello</ref>

[[File:Logo_-_Centro_Sergio_Vieira_de_Mello.png|thumb|Logo of the Centro Sérgio Vieira de Mello]]
'''Sérgio Vieira de Mello Center'''

The Sérgio Vieira de Mello Center was founded by his mother, Gilda Vieira de Mello, and Sérgio's surviving spouse Carolina Larriera, also a former UN diplomat and Harvard-trained professional, to honor his legacy, and works with a network of supporters out of Brazil, Sergio's country of nationality and Timor-Leste, the country he helped create – around the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sergiovieirademello.org/index_en.html|title=Sergio Vieira de Mello Center – English|website=sergiovieirademello.org|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>

The Sérgio Vieira de Mello Center works through a nationwide network of universities specialized in international relations and the future generation of world ambassadors. Specifically, the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Center focuses on the use of technology, entrepreneurism, and networks to mobilize mentors and disciples and build a sustainable peace model that can be easily replicated. It engages Harvard and MIT engineers and education professionals to empower local communities and schools. The Center matches ivory tower professionals with a base of the pyramid and disenfranchised youth, identifying easily obtained opportunities.&nbsp;With ANAPRI, the National Association of International Relations Professionals is mobilizing Congress for more resources for the professionalization of the sector.

The Center engages and actively supports a network of more than one hundred schools and institutions bearing Sérgio's name in Brazil and abroad, and provides teaching tools and in-kind material. It also runs the Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize dedicated to her son Sergio Vieira de Mello which is awarded annually in Geneva during the [[International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights]]. The prize comes with a monetary award of CHF 5,000.<ref name=cineuropa240318>{{cite web
| url =https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/458587/
| title =The 22nd FIFDH announces its award winners
| last =Economou
| first =Vassilic
| date =2024-03-18
| publisher = Cineuropa
| access-date =2024-04-19}}</ref>

[[File:Logo-fondation-svdm.jpg|thumb|Logo of the SVDM Foundation.]]'''Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation'''

The Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation was created in 2007 to honor his memory, pursue his ideals, and continue his unfinished mission. The Foundation was established in Geneva, at the initiative of his two sons and his estranged wife, with some friends and colleagues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sergiovdmfoundation.org/|title=Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation – Humanitarian action through dialogue|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref> In 2008, [[Kofi Annan]] launched the first annual lecture, followed by [[Sadako Ogata]] in 2009, by [[Bernard Kouchner]] in 2010, by [[José Manuel Durão Barroso]] in 2011, and by [[Cornelio Sommaruga]] in 2012. Lectures take place at the [[Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies]] in Geneva.

On 11 December 2008, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] made history when it adopted Swedish-sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations,<ref name="UN_A-63-L.49">{{UN document |docid=A-63-L.49 |type=Resolution |body=General Assembly |session=63 |resolution_number=A-63-L.49 |accessdate=11 December 2008|date=11 December 2008|title=World Humanitarian Day}}</ref> that amongst other important humanitarian decisions, decided to designate 19 August as the [[World Humanitarian Day]] (WHD). The Resolution gives for the first time, a special recognition to all humanitarian and United Nations and associated personnel who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause and those who have died in the cause of duty and urges all Member States, entities of the United Nations within existing resources, as well as the other [[International organization|International Organizations]] and [[Non-governmental organization|Non-Governmental Organizations]] to observe it annually in an appropriate way. As a background to this landmark resolution, the family of Sérgio Vieira de Mello resolved to work towards having 19 August recognized as a befitting tribute to all humanitarian personnel. Early April 2008 the Board of the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Foundation prepared a draft Resolution to be sponsored and adopted by the General Assembly designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day. France, Switzerland, Japan, and Brazil, contacted with the draft Resolution, agreed to co-sponsor it.

Sérgio Vieira de Mello founded the United Nations Housing Rights Programme, currently a part of the [[United Nations Human Settlements Programme]], which aims to "assist States and other stakeholders with the implementation of their commitments in the Habitat Agenda".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/housingrights/|title=Housing rights|publisher=UN-HABITAT|access-date=13 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225062154/http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/housingrights|archive-date=25 February 2009}}</ref>

[[File:piazzademello.jpg|thumb|250px|The new square dedicated to Sérgio Vieira de Mello in Bologna, Italy (January 2011)]]

After his death, the Italian city of Bologna was dedicated to Sergio Vieira de Mello a square (''Piazza Sérgio Vieira de Mello'') situated in a modern part of the central quartiere Navile.

Vieira de Mello's life was the subject of the 2020 biopic ''[[Sergio (2020 film)|Sergio]]'', starring [[Wagner Moura]] in the title role.

==Career chronology==

* 1969–1971: French Editor, [[UNHCR]], [[Geneva]], Switzerland
* 1971–1972: Project Officer, UNHCR, [[Dhaka]], [[East Pakistan]]
* 1972–1973: Programme Officer, UNHCR, [[Juba, Sudan|Juba]], [[Sudan]]
* 1974–1975: Programme Officer, UNHCR, [[Nicosia]], [[Cyprus]]
* 1975–1977: Deputy Representative and Representative, UNHCR, [[Maputo]], [[Mozambique]]
* 1978–1980: Representative, UNHCR, [[Lima]], [[Peru]]
* 1980–1981: Head of Career Development and Training Unit of Personnel Section, UNHCR, [[Geneva]], Switzerland
* 1981–1983: Senior Political Officer, [[UNIFIL]], [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations|DPKO]], [[Lebanon]]
* 1983–1985: Deputy Head of Personnel, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland
* 1986–1988: [[Chef de Cabinet]] and Secretary to the executive committee, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland
* 1988–1990: Director of Asia Bureau, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland
* 1990–1991: Director of External Affairs, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland
* 1991–1993: Director for Repatriation and Resettlement Operations, [[UNTAC]], [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations|DPKO]], and Special Envoy of High Commissioner [[Sadako Ogata]], UNHCR, [[Phnom Penh]], [[Cambodia]]
* 1993–1994: Director of Political Affairs, [[UNPROFOR]], DPKO, [[Sarajevo]], [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]]
* 1994–1996: Director of Operations and Planning, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland
* October–December 1996: Special Envoy of Secretary-General to the [[African Great Lakes|Great Lakes Region]]
* 1996–1998: Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland
* 1998–2002: [[Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs]], UN, New York, US
* 11 June–14 July 1999: Special Representative of the Secretary-General for [[UN administered Kosovo|Kosovo]]
* 1999–2002: Transitional Administrator, [[UNTAET]], DPKO, and Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, [[Dili]], [[East Timor]]
* 2002–2003: [[High Commissioner for Human Rights]], Geneva, Switzerland
* May–August 2003: Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to [[Iraq]]

==See also==

* [[List of peace activists]]
* [[Luiz Carlos da Costa]]
* [[World Humanitarian Day]]
* [[Sergio (2009 film)|''Sergio'' (2009 film)]]
* [[Sergio (2020 film)|''Sergio'' (2020 film)]]

==Further reading==

* Jean-Claude Buhrer et [[Claude B. Levenson]], ''Sergio Vieira de Mello, un espoir foudroyé''. – Paris : Mille et une nuits, 2004. – 199 p., 20&nbsp;cm. – {{ISBN|2-84205-826-7}}.
* Leon Hartwell. 2022. Sergio Vieira de Mello: Lessons on Negotiating with the Devil. In Buffon, D., Hostetter, D., Howlett, C., and Peterson, C. ''Oxford Handbook of Peace History''. Oxford University Press: Oxford. https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/42641/chapter-abstract/375100825?redirectedFrom=fulltext
* George Gordon-Lennox et Annick Stevenson, ''Sergio Vieira de Mello : un homme exceptionnel''. – [[Genève]] : Éditions du Tricorne, 2004. – 143 p., 25&nbsp;cm. – {{ISBN|2-8293-0266-4}}. – En appendice, choix de textes de Sergio Vieira de Mello.
* Jacques Marcovitch – USP – ''Sergio Vieira de Mello – pensamento e memória''. 1 Edição | 2004 | Brochura 344p. | Cód.: 167075 | {{ISBN|978-85-314-0867-0}}. [https://www.edusp.com.br/loja/produto/492/sergio-vieira-de-mello--pensamento-e-memoria Edusp] ([[Portuguese language|pt]])

==References==
{{Reflist|24em}}

===Bibliography===

{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gourevitch |first1=Philip |author-link=Philip Gourevitch |year=2008 |title=[[The Ballad of Abu Ghraib|Procedimento Operacional Padrão]] |publisher=[[Companhia das Letras]] |location=São Paulo |isbn=978-85-359-1365-1 |last2=Morris |first2=Errol |author-link2=Errol Morris}}
* {{cite book |last = Power |first = Samantha |author-link = Samantha Power |title = Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World |publisher = [[Allen Lane]] |year = 2008 |page = [https://archive.org/details/chasingflameserg00powe_0/page/16 16] |isbn = 978-1-59420-128-8|url = https://archive.org/details/chasingflameserg00powe_0/page/16 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==

{{Commons category|Sérgio Vieira de Mello}}
* [http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10717820&CFID=14377625&CFTOKEN=3d46a1ee5a8a830b-601EEE13-B27C-BB00-0127738E5FE59A82  ''The Economist'' – "A brave man's journey"]
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2146395.stm BBC News – Obituary: ''Sergio Vieira de Mello'']
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/08/19/sprj.irq.demello/ CNN – ''Sergio Vieira de Mello: A Rising Star'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121204223709/http://www.sergiovdmfoundation.org/wcms/ ''Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation'']
* [http://www.viddler.com/v/f0c2986e''En Route to Baghdad'' directed by Brazilian journalist Simone Duarte]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://svm.iri.usp.br IRI-USP "''Sergio Vieira de Mello: 20 anos depois de Bagdá''". Media collection at the Institute of International Relations. University of São Paulo] . (Portuguese language).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051220092324/http://ochaonline.un.org/webpage.asp?ParentID=9848&MenuID=9855&Page=1291 ''Sergio Vieira de Mello &#91;Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator&#93;'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051102225619/http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/hc/vieira.htm UNHCHR Sergio Vieira de Mello]
* [https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/enroutetobaghdad/sergio.html PBS Independent Lens pages on "''En Route To Baghdad''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210071532/https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/enroutetobaghdad/sergio.html |date=10 December 2017 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110515015734/http://midiaindependente.org/en/blue/2004/07/286986.shtml UNHREP. The Final Project of the Man of Peace]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080415024611/http://www.unspecial.org/UNS671/t22.html UN Special Nº671. DEAR FRIENDS OF SERGIO]
* [https://www.ted.com/talks/samantha_power_a_complicated_hero_in_the_war_on_dictatorship TED Talks Samantha Power: Shaking hands with the devil]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/18/AR2009081802908.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns&sid=ST2009081802974 "Unsung Heroes of the Battlefields" by Laurent Vieira de Mello, president of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation – ''The Washington Post'', 19 August 2009]
* {{IMDb name|2011899|Sérgio Vieira de Mello}}

===Interviews===

* [http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfchr59/Issue6/interview.htm Interview with Human Rights Features] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716232803/http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfchr59/Issue6/interview.htm |date=16 July 2012 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051213135315/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03%2F08%2F20%2F1450239 Interview] on [[Democracy Now!]]
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/forum/2523983.stm Interview] on [[BBC News]]
* [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec99/kosovo_8-4.html Can Kosovo recover?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030023419/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec99/kosovo_8-4.html |date=30 October 2013 }} – Interview on PBS

===Films===

* Documentary film, [[Sergio (2009 film)]]: [https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/enroutetobaghdad/ ''En Route to Baghdad'' directed by Brazilian journalist Simone Duarte]
* Biographical film [[Sergio (2020 film)|Sergio]], by [[Netflix]], premiered at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] on 28 January 2020, released in the US on 17 April 2020.

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{{succession box | before = [[Yasushi Akashi]] ({{flagicon|Japan}})| title = [[Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator|Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and<br />Emergency Relief Coordinator]]  | years = 1998–2001| after = [[Kenzo Oshima]] ({{flagicon|Japan}})}}
{{succession box | before = [[Mary Robinson]] (1997–2002) | title = [[UN High Commissioner for Human Rights]]  | years = 2002–2003| after = [[Bertrand Ramcharan]] (2003–2004) [[Louise Arbour]] (2004) }}
{{succession box
|before=[[Nicolau dos Reis Lobato]] (nominal President of East Timor) 1978
|years=1999–2002
|title=[[UN Administrator for East Timor]]
|after=[[Xanana Gusmão]] as President of [[East Timor]]}}
{{succession box |title=Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq
|years=2003
|before=N/A
|after=[[Ashraf Qazi]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{United Nations|state=collapsed}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Sergio Vieira De}}
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