ACTION TO IMPROVE SECURITY OF STAFF ASKED OF MEMBER STATES, DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Press Release
DSG/SM/71
GA/9636

ACTION TO IMPROVE SECURITY OF STAFF ASKED OF MEMBER STATES, DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Following is the text of Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette today to the General Assembly on staff security:

Let me start by paying homage to Julius Nyerere, the founder and first president of the United Republic of Tanzania, an architect of the Organization of African Unity and one of the giants of the 20th century African liberation movement. He was "Mwalimu", or "Teacher", to us all, and his death takes from us a good friend and a tireless supporter of the United Nations.

As I stand before you this morning, the following scenes are unfolding elsewhere: the family of Valentin Krumov of Bulgaria is mourning his brutal murder in Pristina on the very day he took up his duties there. The families of Luis Zuniga of Chile and Saskia von Meijenfeldt of the Netherlands are preparing to bury their loved ones, killed in cold blood while on a mission in Burundi to assess humanitarian needs. And the families of still more United Nations colleagues, held hostage in Georgia, are waiting in anguish for word of their fate.

Such incidents -- killings, assaults, harassment, kidnapping -- have become far too routine in conflict zones throughout the world. United Nations staff have become moving targets, not through any fault of their own but because there are those who seek advantage in flouting international humanitarian norms and simple human decency.

All too often the targeting is deliberate, directed not only against United Nations staff but also non-governmental organizations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This is not only wrong. It is depriving the international community of a precious tool with which to relieve the suffering caused by war and humanitarian emergencies.

Some will say there is little that can be done against hatred and violence. I beg to differ, and I do so in the strongest possible terms. Some things are indeed beyond our control, but much is within it. You, the Member States, bear primary responsibility for ensuring

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the security of United Nations staff. Here are some measures you can take:

First, you can conduct vigorous investigations into all such killings and incidents, prosecuting those responsible to the full extent of the law. To our knowledge, only one person has ever been found guilty and imprisoned for killing or causing the death of a United Nations staff member. This impunity cannot be allowed to stand.

Second, those who have not done so already can sign and ratify two conventions. The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel has come into force at long last, but only 29 nations have ratified it. The Rome Statute for an International Criminal Court, not yet in force, will make it a war crime to attack personnel involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission pursued in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

Third, you can provide the funding necessary to improve staff security. We need more security officers and stress counsellors, and more training. Improved security is not a luxury. It should be viewed -- as it would be in any private firm -- as an essential operating cost.

Fourth, you can use your influence over those who control the territories in which these atrocities occur. You can exert more influence over States, or over factions within them, to bring their forces under better control and discipline.

We all know that risk is part of the job. But a desperate irony is developing. Member States are willing to send unarmed civilians into places where they will not send well-armed soldiers.

As the Secretary-General has said, these are your own citizens who are venturing into peril. Let us consider what more we can do, on an urgent basis, to ensure that they can carry out their vital work in safety. Let us send our prayers to all who are mourning today.

And let us recognize that if we fail to act, there will be more families and friends who will mourn tomorrow, and the day after that. That is not something any of us would wish on another human being, or want to have on our conscience. So we must prevent it. Thank you very much.

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