UN High-Level Side Event on Countering Hostage-Taking

Overview: On September 30, 2024, Hostage Aid Worldwide in partnership with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, held a UN High-Level Side Event on Countering Hostage-Taking at the Westin Grand Central New York.

Objective: This event aimed to address the alarming rise of politically motivated hostage-taking, bring together key stakeholders, including government officials, NGOs, survivors, and experts, to foster international collaboration and explore legal and diplomatic solutions.

Moderator: Bob Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York and President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Program: High-level addresses from co-sponsoring countries, a presentation of critical data on recent trends, and a discussion on potential legal frameworks to combat this global crisis.

Key objectives of the gathering included:

Raising awareness about the global crisis of hostage-taking by terrorist organizations and non-state actors pursuing extremist agendas.

Facilitating high-level dialogue on international cooperation to prevent and resolve hostage crises.

Exploring legal and diplomatic solutions, including the potential renewal of the 1979 Convention on the Prevention of Kidnapping by Non-State Actors.

Fostering commitments from UN member states to take concrete actions against hostage-taking.

Opening Statement: Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs  Honourable Mélanie Joly

Keynote Speaker: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Speakers:

– U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea

– UK Ambassador Dame Barbara Woodward

– German Ambassador Thomas Zahneisen

– Argentine Ambassador Ricardo Lagorio

– Debra Tice, mother of captive U.S. journalist Austin Tice

– Shaked Haran, an Israeli human rights lawyer who had seven members of her family taken hostage by Hamas from their homes in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th.

Participants: Diplomats, legal and policy experts from around the world, including the missions of Argentina, Albania, Canada, Czech Republic, DRC, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe, among others – civil society groups from around the world including Lebanon, Syria, Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Indonesia, and Nigeria – representing every region internationally, and many former hostages and families of current hostages.

Closing Statement: Recommendations

1- Establish an ad hoc working group within the UN that engages member states to address current hostage cases and to work to free hostages immediately until the other below recommendations are put in place;

2- Champion the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of a Special UN Envoy for Hostage Affairs;

3- Facilitate an annual United Nations global hostage forum in partnership with stakeholders to cooperate and agree upon recommendations and strategies that enable the development of a sustainable legal and practical framework to prevent and resolve hostage crises;

4- Explore legal and diplomatic solutions, including the renewal and potential amendment of the 1979 International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages;

5- Create an agenda item of the UN General Assembly to collectively address hostage-taking by non-state actors.