PRESS CONFERENCE ON UN STAFF SECURITY

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON UN STAFF SECURITY

One final conclusion shared by all members of the panel on the protection of United Nations staff and locally recruited and associated personnel was the need to expand resources in the area of safety and security, to increase funding for the programmes already in existence and to constantly review and revitalize them, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference yesterday.

Addressing about the outcome of yesterday's Third Summit on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service, former United Nations Staff Union President George Irving informed the press about the panel discussion. The President of the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System and United Nations Staff Union, Mehri Madarshahi, described the results of yesterday's plenary meeting.

Ms. Madarshahi said that 43 Member States took part in the event, with 11 ambassadors taking the floor alongside the Presidents of the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council. The Deputy Ambassador of France read a statement on behalf of the President of the Security Council. Also attending the plenary was the Security Coordinator of the United Nations. A number of dignitaries attended a panel discussion, which was also held today.

When she addressed the plenary, she had highlighted the United Nations increased involvement in a growing number of conflicts, which today presented more complex and demanding challenges. While casualties had been mostly accidental in the past, United Nations personnel were increasingly being intentionally targeted. The United Nations flag could no longer serve as a shield for the individuals taking part in peacekeeping operations. Sierra Leone, Georgia, Pristina and East Timor could be quoted as examples of situations where international staff had been exposed to danger, including rape, kidnapping and murder. Poor administration by Member States contributed to the problem. The international community on the whole must renew its efforts to ensure personal safety and personal protection of the staff.

She said that yesterday's meeting emphasized the importance of the Convention on the Safety and Security of the United Nations and Associated Personnel, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1994 and came into force in January 1999. The Convention had 43 signatories as of today, and 33 countries had ratified it. Only two days ago France had joined the number of countries that had ratified the Convention. Also mentioned in the debate was the Rome Convention, establishing the International Criminal Court. According to that Convention, an attack on peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel was defined as a war crime.

She said that the President of the General Assembly had made a personal plea to all Member States to expedite the ratification of the two Conventions, and Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette mentioned the commitment of the Secretary-General and the administration to the issue. She also said that all the activities among various duty stations would be coordinated, and that mandatory training would be introduced for all mission participants. Debriefing and stress management counselling were emphasized. However, she also stressed the lack of resources, urging all Member States to come forward and assist the United Nations,

Staff Security Press Conference - 2 - 16 June 2000

particularly in the trust fund, which was being established for the safety of the United Nations personnel. At this point, the trust fund had received only $1.2 million from Finland, Japan, Monaco, Norway and Senegal.

The meeting was also informed that the Secretary-General was planning to move away from an ad hoc approach to peacekeeping operations to ensured budgetary arrangements. According to statistics, at present the United Nations was spending only $12 on individual staff member's security per year, and that situation should be improved. Only through the collaborative efforts of the United Nations, the international community, Member States, the media and non-governmental organizations could the situation be improved.

Turning to the outcome of the panel discussion, Mr. Irving said that, as a moderator of the panel devoted to the review of the legal, political, physical and psychological assistance required for staff protection, he had been privileged to welcome several distinguished speakers. Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations Antonio Monteiro, who was also current President of the European Union, spoke about the political aspects of staff protection. The Under- Secretary-General and Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Hans Corell, addressed the legal aspects of the problem. Addressing the physical and psychological aspects of protection and other needs within their respective areas of expertise were: Director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Nicholas Bwankira; Director of the United Nations Medical Service Bernard Demure; the Staff Security Coordinator for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Mark Powe; representative of American Friends Service Committee Cathy Bergen; and Director of the World Food Programme New York Office, Mona Hammon .

The panel brought into focus some very important practical concerns, including the need for greater awareness and development of strategies for the enforcement of the Safety Convention. Full support of governments and the Organization was needed to organize the safe functioning of the missions. The panel also emphasized the importance of pre- and post-assignment debriefing of staff members, as well as counselling for those who suffered trauma and aid to family members of staff and personnel killed or injured in the line of duty. Sufficient training of personnel was also stressed, as well as the need to improve evacuation procedures. Speakers also expressed concern over the protection of locally recruited staff at the time of danger and the need to improve compensation mechanisms.

Asked if the language of safety demands on behalf of the personnel was becoming stronger, Ms. Madarshahi said that it definitely was. Lately, the Organization had started to devote more attention to peacekeeping and peace- building. The level of peacekeeping operations had increased 12-fold in the period from 1986 to 1992. As the number of regional and local conflicts grew around the world, the role of the United Nations was becoming more important. Recent operations showed that the Organization was not always successful in its missions, and in many cases the level of preparedness of the staff was low. The Staff Associations had been trying to highlight the importance of safety issues, but the media "had a hard time warming up to this idea". Despite that, she hoped that using stronger language and "more muscle", they would succeed in bringing the issue to the attention of the international community.

Would the staff be willing to resort to strike and refuse to go on missions, unless safeguards were put in, a correspondent asked? Ms. Madarshahi replied that the level of staff commitment was very high. At no time had the call of the Secretary-General been left unanswered by staff. For example, last summer, despite the lack of safety guarantees in East Timor, staff members were ready to go there. Although statistics differed from one report to another, she believed that close to 500 people had been lost in the last 7 years, taking into consideration both members of the missions and the local personnel.

The point might come, she continued, when the staff would demand guarantees on important safety issues. She hoped that there would be no need to go that far. The main target of the Staff Associations' efforts were Member States, however, and not the administration, which was well aware of the problems.

Mr. Irving added that Mr. Corell had pointed out today that the International Criminal Court was really a break-through in terms of the development of international law and enforcement of human rights conventions, which, he hoped, would be expanded to protect the United Nations and associated personnel. Staff members should encourage implementation of existing instruments in that respect.

Asked to comment on the assistance to those who had been detained, Mr. Irving said that he did not have any figures in that connection. However, the long-standing principle was that staff members, who had been detained or imprisoned without the benefit of due process should continue to be considered staff members and receive all their emoluments until their cases had been adjudicated. The Staff Union was very firm on that. The problem also "spilled over" into the financial implications on the families of those detained.

Elaborating on the same issue, Ms. Madarshahi said that an active $80,000 scholarship fund for children of those who had died in the line of duty had been established within the Organization. As the Staff Unions could not do fund- raising outside of the United Nations, all the money generated for the fund came from inside donations and programmes organized within the United Nations. Other efforts were being made to provide for the families of the staff who had lost their lives. However, fund-raising was not an easy task. She hoped that government contributions to the fund established for the security training would be helpful.

Responding to a question about the "impunity aspect" of the safety problem, Mr. Irving said that the circumstances under which the staff had to function were very important. Sometimes it was difficult to hold responsible "certain parties who had committed acts of aggression". Efforts of the Staff Union should be devoted to mobilizing support and publicizing the issue, but the staff should not be alone in shouldering the burden. Someone should be held accountable for the injuries that occurred.

To a question regarding "deterrent measures", Mr. Irving said that in the cases where aggravated assault was involved, additional penalty and enforcement provisions should be provided for. Staff members were expected to serve under very difficult circumstances. They were often brought in as unarmed civilians, carrying out humanitarian assistance. They were vulnerable for that reason. Sometimes there was an assumption that full protection would be provided by local authorities. Such protection should not be taken for granted.

Ms. Madarshahi added that the question of accountability of Member States was under close scrutiny now by both the Security Council and the Secretary- General. The Secretary-General had launched a review of the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions and problems associated with them. She hoped that some

concrete recommendations would be produced in that respect. A question of guarantees for personnel in the buffer zones was being looked at. In Sierra Leone, an agreement with the Government had been signed, but due to local circumstances it could not be reinforced. The question was this: was it fair to send civilians to conflict zones where governments themselves were hesitant to send their armed soldiers?

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