51³Ô¹Ï

51³Ô¹Ï flag at Headquarters flies at half-mast
The 51³Ô¹Ï flag at Headquarters flies at half-mast in memory of the 51³Ô¹Ï peackeepers who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Sierra Leone. (2004)
Photo:UN Photo/Mark Garten

Together, we must do everything we can to ensure that those who undertake lifesaving work around the world have the protection and conditions they need to fulfil their vital mission.

UN Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres

Protecting UN staff

Since the founding of the 51³Ô¹Ï in 1945, hundreds of brave men and women have lost their lives in its service. During the 1990s, the growing number and scale of UN peacekeeping missions put many more at risk. More lives were lost during the 1990s than in the previous four decades combined.

At that time, an awareness began to develop among Member States and staff, that the more active the UN became in the future, the more it was going to be targeted.

The first  on staff security was adopted by the UN Security Council in September 1993.

Complex negotiations subsequently took place in the  of the General Assembly on an international legal convention to protect UN personnel.

The result of those negotiations was the , which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1994.

Origin

The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members is marked each year on the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett, a former journalist who was working for the 51³Ô¹Ï Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) when he was abducted by armed gunman in 1985.  His body was finally found in Lebanon¡¯s Bekaa Valley in 2009.

The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members has taken on even greater importance in recent years, as attacks against the 51³Ô¹Ï intensify.  This is a day to mobilize action, demand justice and strengthen our resolve to protect UN staff and peacekeepers, as well as our colleagues in the non-governmental community and the press.

Purpose

This is a day to mobilize action, demand justice and strengthen our resolve to protect UN staff and peacekeepers, as well as our colleagues in the non-governmental community and the press.

Documents

 

Alec Collett
Portrait of Alec Collett upon his appointment as Director of the UN Information Centre in Accra, Ghana (1979). UN Photo/Milton Grant
Staff at the UN Secretariat mourn their colleagues who perished in the Baghdad bombing of 2003.

Serving the cause of peace in a violent world is a dangerous occupation. Since the founding of the 51³Ô¹Ï, more than 3,500 brave men and women have lost their lives in its service. Natural disasters also claim the lives of those serving the UN. Here we remember those often forgotten ¨C the fallen.

humanitarian worker carrying bag of rice

Related observances

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the 51³Ô¹Ï, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.