UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 (APP): UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Tuesday that former Algerian foreign minister, Lakhdar Brahimi, will lead an independent panel looking into ways to ensure better protection of UN personnel around the world.
The UN chief, just back from Africa, made the announcement after he briefed the UN Security Council on his trip.
“The panel will be chaired by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, who possesses vast experience and knowledge of UN operations,” Ban said. “I am quite sure that he will lead this independent panel with fairness and objectivity, to bring a very important recommendation for the safety and security of the UN staff.”
“Recent events in Kenya, Chad, Darfur and Algeria serve only to underscore this matter’s urgency,” Ban told reporters.
Ban said he will be engaging with member states in the coming weeks and months to strengthen the security and safety support they are providing to UN staff posted in their countries.
According to a statement issued by Ban’s spokesperson, the independent review will “evaluate the strategic issues vital to the delivery and enhancement of the security of UN personnel and premises and the changing threats and risks faced by it.”
The panel will examine the inherent vulnerabilities of UN operations around the world, study the responses of host countries, and identify the fundamental lessons drawn from preceding reports on the subject, including the preliminary report of the Department of Safety and Security on the Algiers attack.
The other members of the Independent Panel on Safety and Security of UN Personnel and Premises, which will include international experts from outside the UN system, are expected to be announced shortly.
Last month in Geneva, Ban announced the establishment of the independent Panel on Safety and Security of UN Personnel and Premises in the wake of the deadly bombing of UN office in Algiers that claimed the lives of 17 UN employees.