Hammarskjöld death probe to be stepped up
UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has released a follow-up note to last year’s report of an Independent Panel of Experts that was established to examine and assess new information regarding the death of former UN secretarygeneral, Dag Hammarskjöld.
The panel was appointed by Ban at the request of the UN General Assembly, which also requested its member states to release any relevant records in their possession, as well as to provide the UN chief with any relevant information related to the death of Hammarskjöld and of the members of his party.
Hammarskjöld served as the top UN official from April 1953 until his death in September 1961, at the age of 56 in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by Ban’s spokesman, the followup note includes responses from Belgium, South Africa, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the US, to the requests made by him, following up on the pending questions of the panel to the countries and as mandated by the 193-member General Assembly.
“I would again urge all member states to continue their search for relevant documents and information, and to review for potential disclosure information which remains classified or undisclosed for other reasons,” said Ban in the follow-up note.
“I have declassified those archives of the UN for which I am responsible under the relevant rules and regulations, some of which were, at the time of the report of the panel, still classified at a confidential or strictly confidential level,” he added.
The General Assembly also requested that the secretary-general explore the feasibility of establishing a central archival holding or other arrangement that would enable access to relevant records with a view to ensuring their preservation and access.
The UN chief also reached out to individuals and institutions that might hold relevant information to request that they provide an inventory of such information.
Inquiry
Ban and the General Assembly have previously stated that a further inquiry or investigation would be necessary to finally establish the facts of the matter.
Any further inquiry or investigation would benefit from an assessment of potential new information, including from South Africa or other sources.
Additionally, Ban has recommended that the General Assembly appoint an eminent person or persons to review new information which may exist.
Such person or persons would then be able to determine the scope that any further inquiry or investigation should take. – African News Agency