Local staff ‘particularly vulnerable’ to detention, as UN calls for their release

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Staff members of the United Nations around the world who are recruited locally are “particularly vulnerable” to detention and should be released and allowed to go home according to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.

In the last year alone 101 UN staff members were arrested or detained globally of whom at least 52 UN personnel remain in detention.

The UN has a presence on the ground in some of the world’s most dangerous and unstable locations including Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a statement ahead of the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members the UN chief said that UN staff often serve “at immense personal risk – facing threats of kidnap, violence, harassment, detention, and more.”

Mr. Guterres urged governments to ensure the safety and security of UN staff and to seek justice for crimes committed against them.

He called on all states to fulfill their obligations under international conventions related to the protection of UN personnel.

“Together, we must protect those who serve humanity and help build a better and safer world for all.”

Held in Yemen

The Arabian Peninsula state of Yemen is a particularly dangerous place to work for the United Nations.

“In Yemen, 23 UN staff members, along with many other humanitarian workers, remain detained – some for more than three years,” the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Philémon Yang, said in his message to mark the international day.

The staffers are being held by de facto Houthi authorities in areas of the country under their control. Yemen has been embroiled in civil conflict since 2014 between Houthi militants and the internationally-recognized Government.

Mr. Yang said that “one UN aid worker from the World Food Programme has died while detained,” adding that those colleagues had “dedicated themselves to educating children, providing vital medical and food assistance to millions, and promoting peace and dialogue.

“Their work must be protected. I stand in full solidarity with all those detained. They must be released and protected.”

The staff detained in Yemen are all national staff and, prior to their detention, worked with UN and other agencies including the UN human rights office (OHCHR), the UN Development Programme, UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Food Programme, and the NGOs, CARE, Save the Children, and Oxfam.

The President of the General Assembly – which comprises all 193 UN member states – called for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN staff detained in Yemen and elsewhere.

Solidarity and action

The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members marks the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett, a former journalist working for the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, who was abducted by a gunman in 1985. His body was found in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in 2009.

The aim of the international day is to mobilize action, demand justice and strengthen the resolve to protect UN staff and peacekeepers, as well as workers in the non-governmental community and the media.