IN WAKE OF WEST TIMOR KILLINGS, STAFF UNION REITERATES CALL FOR "PROPER SAFEGUARDS" TO PROTECT UN PERSONNEL

Press Release
ORG/1314

IN WAKE OF WEST TIMOR KILLINGS, STAFF UNION REITERATES CALL FOR ‘PROPER SAFEGUARDS’ TO PROTECT UN PERSONNEL

It is with great sadness and despair that the Coordinating Committee of the Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations (CCISUA) must once again demand the implementation of proper safeguards to ensure the safety and security of all United Nations staff and affiliated personnel.

Earlier today, as a result of a vicious and senseless attack that occurred in West Timor at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Field Office (Atambua), four of our colleagues have been confirmed dead and a number of staff wounded. United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) helicopters have safely evacuated 34 international aid workers to East Timor, among them UNHCR staff and the injured. The evacuees are being debriefed and will revert with further details.

In Kupang, all UNHCR international staff and colleagues, numbering over 80 people in all, have assembled in one hotel and are on standby for possible relocation to Denpasar later today. Two of the 18 local staff in Atambua are reportedly unaccounted for, while the remainder are safe. In Kupang, the local staff has been sent home, asked to keep a low profile and to await contact from UNHCR before resuming activities. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the families of our friends and colleagues who have died in such appalling circumstances.

This incident, coming at the beginning of the Millennium Summit, serves as a tragic reminder of the innumerable risks undertaken daily by United Nations staff across the globe. Once again, we call for the allocation of sustainable resources to help ensure the safety and security of all United Nations and associated personnel. We also call on Member States to sign, ratify and abide by the Convention on the Safety and Security of United Nations and Associated Personnel.

Indeed, we hope that the Millennium Assembly will make a collective pledge to safeguard the lives of those who continue selflessly to serve the cause of global peace.

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