Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

UN must overhaul image to improve staff safety-Ban
01 Sep 2008 12:15:29 GMT
 Source: Reuters
GENEVA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The United Nations must improve its image in conflict zones so its employees are not seen as targets, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.

Addressing a Geneva ceremony commemorating the 2003 bombing of the U.N.'s Baghdad headquarters, which killed 22 U.N. staff, Ban said he was committed to taking "every possible measure to protect our staff around the world".

But he said it was impossible to eliminate risk without changing errant perceptions about the world body and its staff, who are occasionally seen as working on behalf of leading powers and not in a neutral interest.

"Too many people in the world do not understand what the U.N. does, or its role as an impartial friend to all. This remains one of our most significant strategic communications challenges," Ban said.

The U.N. has more than 100,000 staff supporting peacekeeping operations in countries including Georgia, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Sudan, and Chad, and deploys scores of humanitarian aid workers to distribute food and run refugee camps in some of the world's most dangerous hotspots.

Plans are under way to build a larger and better-fortified compound to house U.N. staff in Iraq, and security policies will be overhauled in line with recommendations from an independent panel formed after last December's blasts in Algiers that killed 17 U.N. employees, the U.N. chief told the ceremony.

At its New York headquarters and regional hubs in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi, the U.N. and its agencies also work to promote human rights, protect the environment, tackle disease, and fight poverty. It spends about $15 billion a year. (Reporting by Laura MacInnis, editing by Sam Cage and Mary Gabriel)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  On Anniversary of Katrina, Direct Relief International Preparing Clinics for Gustav
DRI - USA

•  Direct Relief International Offers Emergency Aid in Wake of Gustav; Pre-positioned hurricane packs stand ready with partners in Caribbean, U.S. Gulf States
DRI - USA

•  ACT Alert: Hurricane Gustav, Haiti
ACT - Switzerland

•  Americas: Thousands affected by Hurricane Gustav
IFRC - Switzerland

•  MAG DRC - July report
MAG - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  UN must overhaul image to improve staff safety-Ban

•  Hurricane Gustav pounds Louisiana coast

•  US hands over former Iraqi insurgent flashpoint

•  FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Sept 1

•  Nearly 2 million flee Hurricane Gustav

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Related articles

Breaking stories
 UN must overhaul image to improve staff safety-Ban (1 minute ago)

Hurricane Gustav pounds Louisiana coast (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 MEDIAWATCH: Surprises in Sudan (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 On Anniversary of Katrina, Direct Relief International Preparing Clinics for Gustav (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 HAVE YOUR SAY: How can we make aid work safer? (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: FEWS NET Executive Overview of Food Security (as of August 27, 2008) (1 minute ago)


Country information

Facts & figures
Iraq Azerbaijan Lebanon Congo (DR) Haiti Sudan Chad Switzerland Austria

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-31T175616Z_01_LBN05_RTRIDSP_2_LEBANON_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LBN05.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-31T175326Z_01_LBN04_RTRIDSP_2_LEBANON_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LBN04.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-31T175150Z_01_LBN03_RTRIDSP_2_LEBANON_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LBN03.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-31T174919Z_01_LBN102_RTRIDSP_2_LEBANON_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LBN102.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-31T135632Z_01_BAG310_RTRIDSP_2_IRAQ-ANBAR_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BAG310.htm

Shi'ite House Speaker Nabih Berri speak during a rally by members of Amal movement to mark the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr, who was the founder and ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Sep 1 12:17:24 2008