UN CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON AID WORKERS IN PAKISTAN

New York/Islamabad, 11 March 2010: The murder of six staff of the non-governmental organization World Vision International in Mansehra District on 10 March is part of a disturbing trend of attacks on aid workers in Pakistan that are preventing thousands of displaced and needy Pakistanis from accessing life-saving assistance, and gravely endangering the lives of humanitarians.

John Holmes, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, condemned these murders in the strongest terms, making clear that nothing could justify such attacks on those trying to help the people of Pakistan.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon lent his voice to this condemnation. "As we once again mourn the loss of innocent humanitarian workers in Pakistan, I insist in the strongest terms that all the armed actors in the country must ensure the safety of aid workers, not least for the sake of the people they are trying to help."

Attacks on aid staff in Pakistan are sadly increasing. In Mansehra District in 2008, five Plan International staff were murdered by armed attackers. Twelve United Nations staff members have been killed, and 12 others injured in four separate violent incidents since January 2009. In October 2009, WFP's main office in Islamabad was partly destroyed by a suicide bomber, killing five staff members.

In 2009, despite the severe risks, the UN and partners helped the Government of Pakistan assist well over 2 million people who had been displaced by fighting in north-west Pakistan, as well as host communities and people affected by the fighting who never left their places of origin. The aid community altogether provided some 4.3 million people with food. This operation is continuing. The Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan is seeking $537 million for six months from January to June 2010, covering both UN agency and NGO efforts. As in other crises around the world, UN and non-UN organizations work in very close partnership, bringing their respective strengths to bear on the problems in complementary ways.

Pakistan was hit by a severe earthquake in October of 2005 that rendered 3 million people homeless. The World Vision International office in Mansehra District was working to provide assistance to survivors of that disaster.

For further information, please call: OCHA-New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org; John Nyaga,+ 1 917 367 9262, mobile +1 917 318 8917, nyagaj@un.org; OCHA-Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs,+41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.