Military

DATE=12/12/2003

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=U-N / SECURITY

NUMBER=5-54657

BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN

DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The recent rash of violence directed at U-N staff in Iraq and Afghanistan is forcing the United Nations to take a harsh look at itself, and at how others see it. Since its founding in 1945, the world body has viewed its mission as humanitarian, and assumed that its blue flag and symbols would act as a protective shield. But after August 19th, and other recent attacks on international aid workers, the rules are suddenly different. From U-N headquarters, Peter Heinlein reports the United Nations is struggling to adjust to a new reality in which its workers are increasingly being viewed not as humanitarians, but as targets.

TEXT: U-N staff are feeling the pressure. In the past several months, nearly two dozen of them have been killed in the line of duty. Foreign U-N staff were ordered out of Baghdad -- and are still out -- after bomb attacks on U-N headquarters there, one of which took the life of one of the world body's brightest stars, Special Envoy to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Last month, a young French woman working for the U-N High Commissioner for Refugees in Afghanistan was gunned down as she rode in a clearly marked vehicle.

Undersecretary General Jan Egeland told a meeting on protecting civilians in armed conflict this week that these deaths have underscored an unwelcome truth -- the era in which U-N workers could operate without fear is past.

/// EGELUND ACT ///

We have in recent months witnessed what I can only describe as assassinations of humanitarians from across the spectrum: the United Nations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, and Non-Governmental Organizations. These deliberate attacks against humanitarian personnel dramatically reduce access to civilians in armed conflict and the humanitarian space required to render support.

/// END ACT ///

A day after Mr. Egeland spoke, the world body held its annual meeting on staff security. Reflecting the changes of the past year, the session was titled "After Baghdad: UN Workers Under the Gun".

Among the panelists was Salim Lone, former spokesman for U-N operations in Iraq, and a survivor of the Baghdad bomb attack. Mr. Lone told the gathering any assessment of security needs must take into account the reason why people in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan often associate humanitarian workers with combatants.

/// LONE ACT ///

It is vital that we understand what has happened in this world that has made people so fanatical that they will commit atrocities against the very people who are trying to help them.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Lone said from his first day in Iraq, he was astonished at the level of hostility ordinary citizens felt toward the United Nations.

/// LONE ACT ///

In a sense it was understandable because of the years of sanctions, the no-fly zones associated with the U-N, the inspections which were very humiliating. But most of all it went back to the first Gulf war, where they said "how come our invasion of Kuwait was punished so terribly while Israel's occupation of many countries is still in place a quarter century or more."

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Lone warned that it is important that humanitarian organizations in conflict regions make every effort to avoid being viewed by the local population as working in the interests of the big powers.

After Mr. Lone spoke, one member of the audience stood to express concern that, in his words, humanitarianism is seen by many as a Western campaign against Islam."

Another panelist, Stephen Johnson, of the U-N humanitarian affairs office, said the security environment poses a puzzling challenge in protecting humanitarian workers.

/// JOHNSON ACT ///

We don't want to be Fortress U-N, but we don't want to be accused of being reckless. We have to come to a balance.

/// END ACT ///

That balance is going to be the subject of much debate in the coming months. A panel named by Secretary General Kofi Annan to assess blame for security lapses in Baghdad is due to issue its report in mid-January. That report is expected to trigger a complete revamp of the entire U-N security system.

Whether they like it or not, U-N workers in conflict zones will probably never again enjoy the freedom of movement they did until recently. The world has changed, and humanitarian agencies everywhere are being forced to change with it, or risk the lives of more brave workers at the hands of the very people they are trying to help. (Signed)

NEB/NYC/pfh/MEM/KL