UN commemorates international day of solidarity for those kidnapped and detained

To mark the International day of solidarity and the 24th anniversary of Alec Collett’s abduction, the Secretary-General addressed a group of activists, member-states and reporters this morning. Mr. Collett was a UN information officer and journalist and was abducted by armed men in Beirut, Lebanon while working with the UN Relief and Works Agency.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said “the UN Staff Union’s Committee continues to do outstanding work. Whenever I meet with leaders in Europe, Niger and in Pakistan I express my concern in urgently finding those missing.”

Gunmen seized John Solecki in Quetta, Pakistan in early February 2009. Solecki, an American U.N. worker was kidnapped as he rode to work. His driver was shot and killed.  Robert Fowler,  a UN special envoy to Niger disappeared west of the capital Niamey in December 2008.

Ban Ki-Moon added “At least nineteen staff members are still missing or under arrest. I call on state and non-state actors to release them immediately. I also call on states to demand for the safety of United Nations employees. Member states must do their part to buttress the architecture of detention. I also know how hard it is to see the impunity enjoyed by these perpetrators.”
While there is an international treaty in place protecting UN employees, many staff find themselves with little support in regions with low security including Baghdad, Darfur, Algiers and Somalia in recent cases.

In the last two years alone, UNHCR reported that two staff members were held in captivity in Somalia, with John Solecki, head of the UNHCR office in Quetta, Pakistan , still being held.