NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH DETAINED UNITED NATIONS STAFF

21 March 1997

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH DETAINED UNITED NATIONS STAFF

19970321 TO BE OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS 25 MARCH

The Day of Solidarity with Detained Staff Members will be observed at Headquarters on 25 March, with a short ceremony held at 12:30 p.m. in the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Club on the third floor of the Secretariat.

At the ceremony, Staff Committee President Rosemarie Waters will briefly address the United Nations staff. The United Nations Security Coordinator, Benon Sevan, and the Vice-President of UNCA, Ian Williams, will also speak. The event will stress the need for resolving the cases of missing staff members and ensuring the release of those detained.

Promoted by the Staff Union's Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service, the Day marks the date of the abduction 12 years ago in Lebanon of Alec Collett -- a staff member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) -- whose fate has never been determined.

The most recent Secretary-General's report on the issue, of 30 September 1996, said that 70 United Nations staff members were detained or missing throughout the world as of mid-1996, with the earliest cases dating back to 1980. In the previous 12 months, the report states, "10 civilian staff members of different United Nations organizations and agencies lost their lives in the performance of their duty", many others were "subjected to attack, injury, abuse or harassment", and "the arrest or detention of staff members continued to be a major issue".

Both the Security Council and the General Assembly recently reiterated their concern at the increase in attacks and use of force against United Nations personnel -- the Council by a 12 March statement by its President and the Assembly by resolution 51/137 of 13 December 1996.

To address the problem, the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel was adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1994. As of 20 March, 10 Member States had ratified the convention and 43 had signed it. The convention will enter into force one month after it is ratified by 22 Member States.

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