Strengthening staff security: priorities and challenges - 'Protecting the Protectors'

UN Chronicle, June-August, 2003 by Nuchhi Currier

"We are waiting for the enemy. We sit here like bait, unarmed, waiting for the wave while waiting for the militia to do what they have to do; I will draft the agenda for the meeting tomorrow on Kapang. The aim of the meeting: to examine how we are going to continue this operation. I have to go now. I hear screaming outside." These chilling words written by Carlos Caceres, one of three United Nations staff brutally murdered on 6 September 2000 in Atambua, West Timor, have been immortalized. But most humanitarian workers leave as quietly as they enter their field.

Much has been written about the heroes of war, but the unsung heroes of peace, development and humanitarian relief remain a shadowy group. Every day, somewhere in the world, a humanitarian worker puts himself or herself in harm's way to further the cause of peace and security for others. To name just a few recent incidents: on 30 March 2003, a water supply engineer with the International Committee of the Red Cross was shot by unidentified assailants in Afghanistan while helping the country's neediest citizens; on 6 March in Timor-Leste, five UN peacekeepers drowned in a swift-moving river when the driver of their vehicle lost control; on the same day, three aid workers went missing in a highly volatile border region between Liberia and Cote d'lvoire.

In the past decade, we have seen more than a hundred armed conflicts claiming millions of civilian lives and displacing large populations; of these, only seven have been between States. Increased intra-State conflicts in the past few years have resulted in the deployment of more humanitarian workers than ever before in conflict zones. There has been an increased disregard by warring parties for international humanitarian and human rights law, partly due to a perception of humanitarian agencies as partisan obstacles to the attainment of military goals.

According to British and Canadian studies on the Bosnian conflict, as much as 70 to 90 per cent of soldiers in certain missions between 1992 and 1995 were faced with life-threatening situations involving weapons and mortar fire, being held at gunpoint and sniper activity. Other risks included exposure to mine threat, environmental toxins, hostage-taking, witnessing suicide, death by accident, and sexual assault. Observing ethnic cleansing, torture, rape and mutilation of innocents, such as women, children and the elderly, had the greatest impact on the psyches of these international workers.

The primary responsibility for the safety and security of UN personnel in field operations rests with host Governments. No security measures can be effective without their full commitment and efficacy. National and regional safety regulations for international civil servants are as important as UN-mandated initiatives. Unfortunately, the riskiest situation for humanitarian personnel also tend to be those where local government structures have frayed and the international community has been unable to prevent or stop conflicts, giving rise to displacement of populations and a dangerous breakdown of legal and administrative instruments. Additionally, most States still define security more in terms of sovereignty and territorial integrity than in terms of the rights and welfare of the civilian population and humanitarian workers.

Another risk to UN personnel is host governments' lack of awareness of their responsibility for staff security during field operations in their country. In some cases, threats may be generated or fuelled by negative statements by government officials themselves through the media; or local staff belonging to specific ethnic, linguistic or cultural affiliations might be targeted in unwarranted hate attacks. In other cases, local and regional actors perpetrate such attacks as a means of gaining political visibility and recognition. All too often, threats come from non-State actors motivated by economic gain. Control and exploitation of diamonds, timber and other raw materials in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the arms and drug trade in Afghanistan, as well as the plunder of natural resources in Cambodia and the Congo, are all examples of criminal profiteering as a by-product of intra-state strife which might result in attacks on relief workers.

Each organization is obligated to protect and care for the staff it dispatches to troubled areas. Humanitarian assistance cannot be successfully provided if humanitarian relief workers are themselves potential casualties. Futher political, legal and financial measures for enhancing staff security are needed to enable the UN system to advance the cause of peace, development and security.

Over the past decade, threats against the safety and security of UN personnel have escalated at an unprecedented pace. Forced to operate in increasingly dangerous environments and in complex emergencies, the mortality and distress rates of field staff have increased dramatically. From January 1992 to April 2003, 220 civilian UN staff members lost their lives through the deliberate machinations of perpetrators, only 22 of whom have been brought to justice. In 2002 alone, seven staff members gave their lives in the line of duty in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Palestine and Somalia. Another three died in helicopter accidents in Georgia and Sierra Leone.