MEETING TO ADDRESS SECURITY OF UNITED NATIONS STAFF,

 

HUMANITARIAN WORKERS, TO BE HELD ON 16 JANUARY

 

NEW YORK, 12 January (UN Staff Union) -- To address the continuing attacks against United Nations personnel and humanitarian workers worldwide, the Seventh Summit on the Safety and Security of United Nations Staff and Associated Personnel will take place on Tuesday, 16 January from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.

The event will focus on the realities and challenges the United Nations and the international aid community face in carrying out their work.  It will address the increasing security threats and the delicate balance staff face every day in carrying out the mission entrusted by Member States while facing security risks.  The meeting will also focus on legal protections and instruments covering United Nations and associated personnel.

A plenary session will be followed by several presentations and a discussion on substantive security issues.  General Assembly Acting President Frank Major ( Netherlands) will deliver the opening address.  Invited speakers include the President of the Security Council for January, Vitaly Churkin ( Russian Federation) and Economic and Social Council President Ali Hachani ( Tunisia).

Vijay Nambiar, the Secretary-General’s Chief of Staff, will deliver a statement on his behalf, and Dimitri Samaras, Chairperson of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Staff Council, will deliver a statement on behalf of the staff.  Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, will serve as moderator.

Presentations will be made by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel, Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security David Veness and Dr. Abby Stoddard, Senior Research Associate, Center on International Cooperation, New York University.  A discussion on substantive issues will follow, with panelists from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The event is organized by the Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service and by the United Nations Staff Union.  The past six summits highlighted the duty and commitment of Governments to protect and defend United Nations and humanitarian workers performing their duties under hazardous field conditions.

According to the Staff Union, last year at least 22 United Nations personnel were killed in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, southern Lebanon and the Sudan.

For information, please contact Guy Candusso, tel. 212 963 3801, e-mail candusso@un.org;or Edoardo Bellando, tel. 212 963 8275, e-mail bellando@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record