Brasília, August 20, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Chamber of Deputies Foreign Relations and Defense Commission transformed this morning's public hearing into a solemn session to pay homage to Ambassador Sérgio Vieira de Mello.

During the session, originally intended to discuss the position Brazil will take at the meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in September, in Cancun, Mexico, the Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, stressed the importance of the tasks performed by his friend on battlefronts such as Cambodia, Kosovo, Bosnia, East Timor, and Iraq.

According to Amorim, the Ambassador was one of the most trusted collaborators of the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and was extremely dedicated to the enforcement of human rights. "He was unconcerned about the risks he faced in carrying out his missions. He did not regard his career as just another bureaucrat; he put in practice the ideals he formed, and he acted in areas that were extremely important, difficult, and risky," the Minister recalled. The last time Amorim saw Vieira de Mello was two months ago in Amman, Jordan. (DAS)