United Nations Civilian Staff Casualties Falls to Lowest in Five Years, Despite Increased Direct Attacks, Secretary-General Report Finds
Despite the increasingly complex security environment and an unprecedented rise in direct attacks against the United Nations, the number of its civilian personnel* casualties has fallen, Secretary‑General António Guterres reports.
His report to the General Assembly released on 18 October — “Safety and Security of Humanitarian Personnel and Protection of United Nations Personnel” — notes that the global security environment is unlikely to improve in the near term while the overall social, political and economic issues underpinning insecurity persist.
The report analyses global security and security incidents involving United Nations personnel and premises in 2016 and the first half of 2017.
“Global insecurity shows no sign of abating,” the report says, even as the international community continues to call on the United Nations to be present in the most dangerous places of the world.
Direct attacks against United Nations premises rose to 56 in 2016 compared to 35 in 2015, making 2016 the worst year on record for these attacks, the report says. A total of 28 United Nations personnel lost their lives in 2016 and the first half of 2017, owing to acts of violence and safety‑related incidents. This includes the two members of a group of experts serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who lost their lives in 2017 due to violence.
Noting the strengthening of United Nations security capacity, the report states that the number of United Nations civilian casualties has fallen to the lowest in the last five years. It also highlights the impact and challenges on United Nations programmes and personnel.
Despite setbacks, extremist groups had maintained a broad operational reach around the world as they adapted to international pressure, the report says. It notes with concern that Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) propaganda has recently focused again on international diplomatic facilities and staff, including the United Nations.
The Secretary‑General notes his concern over the security of locally recruited United Nations personnel. Female personnel were particularly vulnerable to certain types of security incidents, the report states.
Based on the information received from humanitarian non‑governmental organizations (NGOs), the report says that more than 51 personnel of humanitarian NGOs were killed in 2016 and the first half of 2017. A worrying upsurge in attacks on vehicles belonging to NGOs seems to continue. In addition, violence affecting medical personnel and facilities has been particularly alarming.
“The protection of United Nations personnel and humanitarian personnel is the international community’s collective responsibility,” the Secretary-General said. He calls on the host Governments to bring to justice those who committed crimes against the United Nations.
For further information, please contact Florence Poussin, at tel.: +1 917 288 1037, or email: poussin@un.org; or Suchada Kulawat, at tel.: +1 917 601 4822, or email: kulawats@un.org, in the United Nations Department of Safety and Security.
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* The term does not refer to military members of national contingents or members of formed police units when deployed with their contingent.