International Civil Service under Constant Attack, Says United Nations Staff Union,

Calling on Member States to Do More for Protection of Civilian Personnel

United Nations civilian personnel continue to be arrested and detained around the world by vengeful actors in proxy fights that have nothing to do with them, Staff Union President Stephen Kisambira said on the eve of the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members, to be observed on 25 March.

The constant abuses threaten the independence of the international civil service and the ability of staff to do their work for the people who need it most, Mr. Kisambira said.  “We must not, and cannot, forget them, especially for their family and colleagues who directly suffer the loss of fallen colleagues for many years after the act,” he added.

“I strongly urge Member States, as well as militias and other actors, to respect and protect United Nations and other humanitarian workers, who often carry out life-saving functions,” Mr. Kisambira said, noting that civilian personnel carry out their work in strict neutrality and impartiality, and should not be hindered in their functions.  “The fact that some are missing is a source of particular concern.  It is ironic and sad that United Nations civilian personnel have become pawns in violence.”

The Day of Solidarity draws global attention to the plight of United Nations civilian personnel arrested, detained, abducted, or “disappeared” while in the service of the Organization, and the importance of staff safety and security.  It has become an important observance to pay international homage and add the Staff Union’s tribute of affection for the memory of Alec Collett, who was kidnapped while on writing assignment for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) 25 years ago.

Observed on the anniversary of his abduction by armed men near Beirut airport, the Day was proclaimed by the United Nations Staff Union shortly after the kidnapping.  Mr. Collett, whose body was finally found in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley last November, has come to personify the vulnerability of civilian personnel who continue to be detained, arrested and abducted in the performance of their duties, and who sometimes pay the ultimate sacrifice.

Twenty-five civilian personnel were arrested or detained between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2009, according to the last report of the Secretary-General on safety and security of humanitarian personnel (document A/64/336), which details 208 arrests of United Nations personnel and dependants by State actors, and 50 cases of detention by non-State actors.

As of 18 March, two civilian personnel remain missing, one in Eritrea and another in Somalia, while 24 are under arrest or detained by authorities of Member States.  These are cases in which United Nations organizations are denied access to or information on staff members; a staff member is denied due process of law; or the reason for arrest and detention is linked to United Nations activities, a staff member’s affiliation with the Organization or military conscription.  There are no pending cases of abductions by non-State actors.

The security of United Nations personnel remains tenuous in the context of the non-ratification of the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel by a majority of Member States, 104 of which have not ratified it.  The 2005 Optional Protocol to the Convention, which extends legal protection to other humanitarian workers, has still not entered into force, because it still lacks at least 22 ratifications.  “Ratifying those instruments would send an unequivocal signal that Member States are serious about protecting United Nations personnel, that is, their own nationals,” said Mr. Kisambira.

Annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity is organized by the Staff Union and its Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service.

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For information media • not an official record