Every year on March 25th, the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members commemorates the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett. He was kidnapped by armed gunman in 1985. Collett, a former British journalist, was kidnapped at gunpoint while working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Collett’s body wasn’t found until 2009.
More recently, in 2018, 16 UN staff members were kidnapped or abducted. All of them were released. In 2019, 21 UN staff members were arrested or in detention. Five of them were held without any formal charges. Kidnap victims are held on average for 12 days. However, Vincent Cochetel, a worker with a UN refugee agency was held captive for 317 days in 1998.
Since 1985, the UN has marked the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett. In 1993, the UN established the Convention on the Safety of the United Nations and Associated Personnel. The UN General Assembly adopted this Convention in 1994. At that time, the UN also declared March 25th as International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members.
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