UN extends aid mission in Iraq for another year

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 11 (Reuters) The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations assistance mission in Iraq for another year on Thursday after Baghdad said it still needed help rebuilding and restoring security.

A resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council reaffirmed the world body should ''play a leading role'' in helping Iraq ''in strengthening institutions for representative government and in promoting national dialogue and unity.'' The mandate had been due to expire today.

The United Nations, since the US-led 2003 invasion, has helped Iraq draft a constitution, set up an elected government and provide social services and humanitarian assistance.

It has also worked to help rebuild the country, reform its legal and judicial systems, promote human rights and organize a census.

But mission staff levels and activities have been kept down by security concerns after the UN headquarters in Baghdad was destroyed by a truck bomb in August 2003 that killed 22 people including mission chief Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari endorsed the mandate renewal in a letter sent last week to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, saying his government believed ''there continues to be a vital role'' for the United Nations.

However, he said the government reserved the right to ask the council to end the mandate sooner if it chose to.

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