UN Calls for Immediate Release of Detained Staff and Stronger Protection on International Day of Solidarity

The United Nations is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained staff members and stronger global action to protect humanitarian workers who risk their lives delivering aid in conflict zones.

On the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members, observed annually on March 25, the UN and its partners are demanding justice, accountability, and enhanced safety measures for personnel who serve in some of the world’s most dangerous environments.

Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that “together, we must do everything we can to ensure that those who undertake lifesaving work around the world have the protection and conditions they need to fulfil their vital mission.” The day honours the memory of Alec Collett, a UNRWA journalist abducted in 1985 and later killed in Lebanon, while highlighting the growing number of staff who remain detained or missing.

Last year alone, over 100 UN personnel were arrested or detained worldwide, with dozens still held. Locally recruited staff, who form the backbone of operations, face particularly severe risks. The 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel and its 2005 Optional Protocol provide the legal framework for protection, but enforcement remains weak in many conflict zones.

Africa continues to bear a heavy burden. UN peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Somalia expose staff to armed groups, arbitrary detention, ambushes on convoys, and direct targeting. The International Committee of the Red Cross has registered over 82,000 missing persons linked to conflicts across the continent.

In Nigeria, the dangers are stark. The 2011 suicide bombing of the UN House in Abuja killed 23 people, including 11 – 12 UN staff members – the deadliest single attack on the organisation in the country. Boko Haram claimed responsibility.

Since then, humanitarian hubs in Borno State have been attacked, aid convoys ambushed, and national staff targeted at their homes. These incidents have repeatedly disrupted life-saving assistance to millions of internally displaced persons in the northeast and slowed down interventions in other areas heavily impacted by banditry and kidnappings.

The United Nations is therefore calling on governments and de facto authorities everywhere to respect international law, treat UN premises as inviolable, ensure safe passage for humanitarian workers, and release all detained personnel immediately. The organization also says greater investment in staff safety – including training, secure facilities, and coordinated protection with host governments – is urgently needed.