[...]She called on those who had not already done so to sign and ratify the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel and the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, which would make it a war crime to attack personnel involved in humanitarian assistance or a peacekeeping mission.[...]

LOUISE FRECHETTE, Deputy Secretary-General, paid homage to Julius Nyerere, the founder and first President of the United Republic of Tanzania, an architect of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and one of the giants of the twentieth century African liberation movement. He was a "mwalimu", or "teacher". His death took away a good friend and a tireless supporter of the United Nations, she said.

She reviewed scenes that were unfolding elsewhere, such as the family of Valentin Krumov of Bulgaria who was mourning his brutal murder in Pristina on the very day he took up his duties there. Moreover, the family of Luis Zuniga of Chile and Saska von Meijenfeldt of the Netherlands were preparing to bury their loved ones, killed in cold blood while on a mission in Burundi to assess humanitarian needs. And the families of still more United Nations colleagues, held hostage in Georgia, were waiting in anguish for word of their fate.

She said that such incidents -- killings, assaults, harassment, kidnapping - - had become far too routine in conflict zones throughout the world. United Nations staff had become moving targets, not through any fault of their own, but because there were those who sought advantage in flouting international humanitarian norms and simple human decency.

Some would say that there was little that could be done against hatred and violence. Some things were indeed beyond control, but much was within it. Member States bore primary responsibility for ensuring the security of United Nations staff.

It was necessary that Member States conduct vigorous investigations into all such killings and incidents, prosecuting those responsible to the full extent of the law. Only one person had ever been found guilty and imprisoned for killing or causing the death of a United Nations staff member. That impunity could not be allowed to stand, she stated. Those States which had not done so already could sign and ratify two conventions: The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel and the Rome Statute for an International Criminal Court, which would make it a war crime to attack personnel involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission pursued in accordance with the United Nations Charter. Continuing, she said it was also important to provide the funding necessary to improve staff security, and for Member States to use their influence over those who controlled the territories in which those atrocities occurred.

Member States were willing to send unarmed civilians into places where they would not send well-armed soldiers. Therefore, "let us consider what more we can do, on an urgent basis, to ensure that they can carry out their vital work in safety", she said.

Following the statement of the Deputy Secretary-General, the General Assembly observed a minute of silence in tribute to staff members who lost their lives.