Safety and Security of Humanitarian Personnel and Protection of United Nations Personnel

A/RES/54/192View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 20Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance, published in 1999.

What other versions does this mandate have?

28 versions · 1999–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/112

2025A/RES/80/112Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnelLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/138Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnelCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/118Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnelCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/31Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnelCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/76/127Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnelCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

18 topics

Criminal Investigation Detained Persons Freedom of Movement Hostages Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Humanitarian Assistance Information Dissemination Inter-Agency Cooperation International Humanitarian Law International Obligations Laws and Regulations Privileges and Immunities Prosecution Relief Personnel Report Preparation Signatures, Accessions, Ratifications Staff Security Training Programmes

What does this mandate say?

17 operative paragraphs

Urges all States to take the necessary measures to ensure the full and effective implementation of the relevant principles and rules of international humanitarian law, as well as relevant provisions of human rights law related to the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and United Nations personnel;

Also urges all States to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and United Nations and its associated personnel and to respect and ensure respect for the inviolability of United Nations premises, which are essential to the continuation and successful implementation of United Nations operations;

Calls upon all Governments and parties in complex humanitarian emergencies, in particular in armed conflicts and in post-conflict situations, in countries where humanitarian personnel are operating, in conformity with the relevant provisions of international law and national laws, to cooperate fully with the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies and organizations and to ensure the safe and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel in order to allow them to perform efficiently their task of assisting the affected civilian population, including refugees and internally displaced persons;

Strongly condemns any act or failure to act which obstructs or prevents humanitarian personnel and United Nations personnel from discharging their humanitarian functions, or which entails their being subjected to threats, the use of force or physical attack frequently resulting in injury or death, and affirms the need to hold accountable those who commit such acts;

Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to ensure full respect for the human rights, privileges and immunities of United Nations and other personnel carrying out activities in fulfilment of the mandate of a United Nations operation and to continue to consider ways and means to strengthen the protection of United Nations and other personnel carrying out activities in fulfilment of the mandate of a United Nations operation, notably by seeking the inclusion, in negotiations of headquarters and other mission agreements concerning United Nations and its associated personnel, of the applicable conditions contained in the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,13 the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies14 and the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel;10

Urges all States to ensure that any threat or act of violence committed against humanitarian personnel on their territory is fully investigated and to take all appropriate measures, in accordance with international law and national legislation, to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts are prosecuted;

Also urges all States to provide adequate and prompt information in the event of arrest or detention of humanitarian personnel or United Nations personnel, to afford them the necessary medical assistance and to allow independent medical teams to visit and examine the health of those detained, and further urges all States to take the necessary measures to ensure the speedy release of United Nations and other personnel carrying out activities in fulfilment of the mandate of a United Nations operation who have been arrested or detained in violation of their immunity, in accordance with the relevant conventions referred to in the present resolution and applicable international humanitarian law;

Calls upon all States to consider signing and ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;12

Reaffirms the obligation of all humanitarian personnel and United Nations and its associated personnel to observe and respect the national laws of the country in which they are operating, in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures, falling within his responsibilities, to ensure that security matters are an integral part of the planning for existing and newly mandated United Nations operations and that such precautions extend to all United Nations and its associated personnel;

Also requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with United Nations agencies and other relevant international organizations, to compile examples of best practices, obstacles encountered and lessons learned with regard to the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and United Nations personnel, to ensure that this information is widely disseminated in the field and to include in his comprehensive report to it at its fifty-fifth session on the subject of the present resolution detailed information in this regard;

Further requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to ensure that United Nations and other personnel carrying out activities in fulfilment of the mandate of a United Nations operation are properly informed about the conditions under which they are called to operate, including relevant customs and traditions in the host country, and the standards that they are required to meet, including those contained in relevant domestic and international law, and that adequate training in security, human rights and humanitarian law, as well as stress counselling, are provided so as to enhance their security and effectiveness in accomplishing their functions, and reaffirms the necessity for all other humanitarian organizations to provide their personnel with similar support;

Encourages all States to contribute to the Trust Fund for Security of personnel of the United Nations system, and welcomes the inclusion of security components in the consolidated appeals to advance the cause of inter-agency security coordination;

Recognizes the need to strengthen the Office of United Nations Security Coordinator and the need for a full time Security Coordinator to enable the Office to enhance its capacity in the discharge of its duties, in consultation with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat and appropriate agencies within the Inter-Agency Standing Committee;

Encourages all States to become parties to and respect fully their obligations under the relevant international instruments, including the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel;

Welcomes the addendum on the safety and security of United Nations and humanitarian personnel to the Secretary-General’s report on strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, and requests the Secretary-General to submit to it at its fifty-fifth session a comprehensive report on the safety and security situation of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel, including an account of the measures taken by Governments and the United Nations in prevention of and in response to all individual security incidents involving the arrest, hostage-taking or death of United Nations and its associated personnel;

Recognizes the urgency to consult further to address the recommendations contained in the above-mentioned addendum, to that end requests the Secretary-General to submit by May 2000, for its consideration during its fifty-fourth session, a report containing a detailed analysis and recommendations addressing the scope of legal protection under the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, and in this regard takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on protection of civilians in armed conflicts2 and the range of views expressed during the open debates of the Security Council on 12 February 19994 and 16 and 17 September 1999,5 on protection of civilians in armed conflicts.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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