PRESS CONFERENCE ON STAFF SECURITY

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON STAFF SECURITY

Mehri Madarshahi, President of the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System (CCISUA), and Bernard Grandjean, President of the Federation of International Civil Servants Associations (FICSA), told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this morning that 12,336 staff members from duty stations around the world had signed a petition on the safety and security of staff on mission.

The petition, which was to be given to the Secretary-General for presentation to the Security Council, reads: "The Staff of the United Nations system are deeply distressed that preventive and preparatory measures for staff safety and security have not become an integral part of the peacekeeping and peace-building efforts."

According to Ms. Madarshahi, signatures have been received from more than 40 duty stations, including the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Headquarters, the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), the United Nations University (UNU), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mr. Grandjean stated that the two Presidents had met earlier today with the President of the General Assembly and he had received the petitions as well, assuring them that the matter would be discussed at length in the Assembly.

The purpose of the petition was to request a special session of the Security Council "for hearing and reviewing the present situation with the participation of the staff", Ms. Madarshahi continued. It would be the first time in the history of the United Nations that the staff asked to be present at the debate of the Council. "We are hoping that this particular request will be granted," she said.

In addition, both staff associations presidents were meeting with members of the Administrative Coordinating Committee (ACC), which consisted of all heads of agencies and was chaired by the Secretary-General. They had a number of proposals to give to the ACC on behalf of the staff regarding the improvement of security.

Mr. Grandjean pointed out that several detailed proposals on security were previously made to the ACC in its spring session, some of which had been taken up by the Office of the Security Coordinator or appeared in the recently- released Report of the Secretary-General (document A/55/494). However, he felt

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there was still a long way to go "to make sure that when the mandates of missions are defined, the security of staff -- and we are talking about all staff, not just internationally recruited staff, but also locally recruited staff -- all staff, therefore, are taken into account in the security measures".

Further, Ms. Madarshahi urged Member States to assume solemn responsibility to safeguard the lives of those assigned to their countries. At the same time, the United Nations system had an equal responsibility and they must undertake appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of their personnel. Mr. Grandjean said the Secretary-General's report also recognized the need "to protect the protectors". Therefore, both Member States and the respective organizations were responsible at all stages of the mission.

A correspondent asked what kind of reaction the staff had received thus far from delegates. Ms. Madarshahi pointed to the strong support of the President of the General Assembly, who participated in the silent march in memory of humanitarian workers murdered in West Timor and Guinea on 21 September. She also thanked Theo Ben-Gurirab, President of the previous session of the General Assembly, for his efforts to increase the number of Member States ratifying the Convention on The Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. The Convention had been adopted in 1994, but was not ratified until January 1999.

Moreover, Mr. Grandjean welcomed the help of the Ambassador of France, who said that murder or any similar type of action against United Nations staff was not to be tolerated. He also took note of meetings the FICSA delegation had had with various members of the Group of 77, which was most important for the protection of locally-recruited staff. They were often targeted because they were providing the necessary support for missions. He cited the detainment of many colleagues in Rwanda and killings and beatings in East Timor. "We think it is high time that these countries, these Member States, do react, and do make a strong statement in the General Assembly for the protection of their staff," he said.

Another correspondent had heard that there was resistance from the thirty- eighth floor regarding the petition, "deeming it inappropriate for the international civil servants to try to save their lives". Ms. Madarshahi believed there was initially some hesitation, because it was the first time ever that the staff requested to attend a meeting of the Security Council. The two federations hoped to meet directly with the Secretary-General, but for the moment had been scheduled to see the Deputy Secretary-General, who had championed the cause. Mr. Grandjean said that, because the Secretary-General was the true channel to the Security Council, they wanted the petitions given to him in person.

When would such a special session take place? a correspondent asked. Ms. Madarshahi said it was absolutely essential for the Security Council to deal with the matter today. "Any day that was lost was costing not only the lives, but the well-being of staff," she pointed out. Local staff often comprised 70 per cent of mission staff and were being harassed on an almost daily basis. It was an urgent matter.

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In closing, Mr. Grandjean expressed concern about an event not long after the "Atambua assassination" in West Timor, in which some staff members were sent on a recognition mission, which he felt was a suicide mission, because they were not accompanied by any armed soldiers and they barely escaped lynching. However, humanitarian workers had to be separated from military staff, because they had to be seen by all parties as being totally independent. That would be the most likely way Member States would go to protect civilian staff, he concluded.

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