STAFF UNION URGES SAFETY AND SECURITY CONVENTION RATIFICATION IN FACE OF MORE UNITED NATIONS STAFF DEATHS

Press Release
ORG/1312

STAFF UNION URGES SAFETY AND SECURITY CONVENTION RATIFICATION IN FACE OF MORE UNITED NATIONS STAFF DEATHS

One of the 25 core treaties that the heads of State or government will be asked to sign or ratify during the Millennium Summit next week is the 1994 Convention on the Safety and Security of United Nations and Associated Personnel. The Staff Union congratulates the 35 Member States that have so far ratified the Convention, and appeals to the remaining 153 to seize this opportunity to do the same.

This year has seen no decline in either the number or the range of threats that United Nations and associated personnel face daily in the line of duty. In the past two months, senseless killings have claimed the lives of two peacekeepers with the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), one civilian staff member with the United Nations International Civilian Support Mission to Haiti (MICAH), seven relief workers with the United Nations-supported mine- action programme in western Afghanistan, one peacekeeper with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and two civilian staff members with the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) in Baghdad. These and their many colleagues will be remembered at a special memorial service to be held on the morning of United Nations Staff Day, 25 September.

While the staff continue to put their precious lives on the line in the service of the United Nations and humanity, the Staff Union reminds Member States that it is their primary duty and responsibility to take all appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of the United Nations and other international personnel within their territory, including locally recruited staff. The Staff Union extends its sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of peace.

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