..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 23 March 2007
Press Release No. L/11/2007

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
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MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY
WITH DETAINED AND MISSING STAFF MEMBERS
25 March 2007 (observed on 23 March 2007)

Kidnapping, assault, robbery, theft, harassment and detention continue to be grim realities for United Nations personnel and our colleagues in the media and non-governmental community. As of today, there are 14 staff members currently under arrest, detained or missing, with respect to whom the United Nations family of organizations has been unable to exercise fully their right to protection.

The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members is thus an important occasion on which to underscore not only the plight of those who have been incarcerated, but the broader need for peacekeepers, civilian staff and others to be able to pursue their work free of impediment and mortal threat.

This Day also marks 22 years since our dear colleague Alec Collett was abducted by armed men in Beirut while working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Mr. Collett was never to be seen again, and there has been no final resolution to his case.

Legal protection is essential for international and national staff alike. Eighty-one countries have become party to the United Nations Convention on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel, and another 43 have signed it. I urge the Organization’s membership to embrace this Convention, which is a key piece of the architecture of protection that also includes the Geneva Conventions, the Statute of the International Criminal Court, and other instruments.

A strong commitment to staff security is especially timely given the dramatic increase in the number of UN field personnel in recent years, and the Organization’s growing involvement in delicate tasks such as criminal justice. We can expect more such growth in the year ahead, and will have to maintain our utmost vigilance. I urge governments and all involved to uphold their responsibilities, from prevention to protection – and prosecution when violations and crimes have occurred.

The UN Staff Union’s Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service continues to play an admirable role in focusing attention on this issue. On this International Day, let us all reaffirm our commitment to effective security management, and let us pledge to redouble our efforts to provide staff with the protection and measures they need to carry out their vital missions.