The New York Times takes a peek at Lakdhar Brahimi’s report on the security of UN personnel and property in the wake of last years bombing in Algiers.
United Nations personnel around the world are increasingly likely to be targets for attack because the organization is perceived by some as a tool of powerful members, rather than an unbiased advocate for all nations, Lakhdar Brahimi, a veteran diplomat who headed a global study on the security of United Nations staff members, said Monday.
The study, conducted by a seven-member panel that was organized after 17 United Nations workers were killed in a bombing in Algiers last December, concluded that neither individual staff members nor the organization had fully grasped the change in perceptions, Mr. Brahimi said.
“All of us who work for the U.N., we continue to think of ourselves as good guys, and just because you have the flag, wherever you go you will be all right,” he said. “We need to realize that our flag is not enough protection.”
Meanwhile, the UN security chief David Veness has resigned in the wake of the report.