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e-Contego Journal of Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Support
January 17, 2012
Dedicated to the global community of peacekeepers and humanitarian aid providers
Violence Forces ICRC to Suspend Distribution
UNIFIL Critically Important Says Secretary General Ban On January 14, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to the men and women helping to bring peace to southern Lebanon, while stressing the importance of the safety of United Nations personnel serving in one of the most dangerous missions in the world. “Peacekeeping is always dangerous but it is especially deadly in Lebanon,” Ban said during a visit to the headquarters in Naqoura of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has lost 293 personnel since the mission began in 1978. “More personnel have lost their
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lives serving in UNIFIL than in any other United Nations peacekeeping operation. This weighs heavily on my heart,” he stated. Just last month, five French peacekeepers were wounded in a roadside bomb near the port city of Tyre, in what the secretary-general said was not a random act. In his address, Ban stressed that the safety of UNIFIL personnel was “critically important” and that he had called on Lebanese government officials durContinued on Page 2
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has decided to temporarily suspend its distributions intended for 1.1 million people in urgent need after having its food and seed relief commodities blocked in parts of central and southern Somalia. “The suspension will continue until we receive assurances from the authorities controlling those areas that distributions can take place unimpeded and reach all those in need, as previously agreed,” said Patrick Vial, the head of the ICRC delegation for Somalia. The ICRC is one of the few organizations that have been providing humanitarian aid in those parts of Somalia. The distributions, which started in October of last year, have already Continued on Page 4
Patrick Vial
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