New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with General Assembly leaders on Friday to request prompt approval of at least 75 million dollars to strengthen security and safety for UN staff in Afghanistan. "Despite the clear need, our security management system continues to suffer from resources constraints," he told UN staff Friday before his meeting with assembly leaders. The rushed meetings were prompted by the attack in a Kabul's UN guest house that killed six UN staff and six other people on Wednesday.
Ban said earlier Friday that non-essential UN staff working in Afghanistan would be relocated to safer locations and security would be beefed up to protect those working to assist Kabul in run-off presidential elections on November 7.
Ban called for 50 million dollars to improve screening and to protect access to vulnerable UN offices. He also called for an emergency fund with an initial ceiling of 25 million dollars to assist the UN department of safety and security to meet new demands "in an increasing dangerous world."
The current budget available to deal with crisis such as the situation in Kabul stood at only 1 million dollars. The 192-nation assembly is responsible for approving the budget for UN operations around the world.
In addition, he asked the assembly to approve an initial 10 million dollars to support UN staff that are victims of attacks and their families.
"This is not the first time we have lost UN staff, nor will it be the last," Ban said when he met with assembly leaders to request new fundings.
A separate attack in Pakistan in early October killed five workers of the World Food Programme when the disguised attackers entered the UN office to demand use of the toilet.
He said the UN was targeted "specifically for its good works" in Afghanistan.
The relocation of non-essential staff will take place in coming weeks, he said without providing details. UN offices and guest houses in Afghanistan will received extra security guards and the government of President Hamid Karzai promised to cooperate, he said.
Ban met early Friday with all heads of UN specialized agencies and departments to discuss new security measures after a Taliban-led raid killed six UN staffers and six other people at a guest house maintained by the UN in the Afghan capital.
A total of 27 civilian UN employees have been killed this year, most of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in addition to peacekeepers killed around the world.
During a meeting with UN Security Council members on Thursday, Ban praised UN security guards at the Kabul guest house for their heroism, armed only with pistols, in trying to repulse the heavily armed Taliban attackers.
"Without their heroism, there could have been more victims," Ban said.
"Increasingly the UN has become targets because we support the Afghan elections," Ban told reporters after a closed-door session with the UN Security Council, which convened to work out a text condemning the attack in Kabul and agree to additional security steps.
"Our operation is a civilian operation (in Afghanistan), but we are vulnerable," he said, adding that he needs the assembly to allow him to hire more police and security units to guard UN compounds.
The guest house in Kabul that housed 34 UN staffers at the time of the attack on Wednesday, was rocked by an explosion and immediately stormed by armed attackers. UN security guards fought the attackers for one hour and apparently two of them have died, the UN said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
