WORLD LEADERS TAKE ACTION TO COUNTER GLOBAL HOSTAGE TAKING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

02 October 2024

United Nations Headquarters, New York – World leaders joined with hostage families and international human rights organisations to help put an end to the rising global hostage crisis.

During the United Nations General Assembly 79 side events, Hostage Aid Worldwide and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights hosted a groundbreaking global forum on countering hostage-taking.

The event was opened by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Honourable Mélanie Joly and featured a keynote address by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

This landmark gathering was moderated by the President of the UN Economic and Social Council, Canadian Ambassador Bob Rae, and included remarks by U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, UK Ambassador Dame Barbara Woodward, German Ambassador Thomas Zahneisen, and Argentine Ambassador Ricardo Lagorio.

Many former hostages and the families of current hostages joined the gathering. Two hostage representatives spoke: Debra Tice, mother of captive U.S. journalist Austin Tice, and 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.

Dozens of diplomats, legal and policy experts from around the world joined this major gathering, 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 – and with civil society groups from around the world including Lebanon, Syria, Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Indonesia, and Nigeria – representing every region internationally.

Participants charted a path forward and the following recommendations were presented at the closing of the event:

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.

KEY QUOTES:

“We must be very clear, to take hostages is absolutely intolerant. It is a violation of international humanitarian law. But more than that, it is something absolutely unacceptable, from any point of view. And in all situations, hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

– Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General

“We know very well that addressing global challenges requires collective solutions and without the international community standing together and doing what we can to combat this terrible practice, actors who have no qualms about taking our citizens hostages and disregarding international rules will continue to use these practices.”

– Honourable Mélanie Joly, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs

“Hostage-taking is not just a humanitarian issue. This heinous act is also being used as a weapon of war which constitutes a direct threat to global security and stability. It destabilizes nations, undermines trust between governments, and fuels the machinery of terrorism and organized crime. Hostage-taking is a global challenge which is why the fight against hostage-taking demands the unified and coordinated efforts of all UN member states.”

– Nizar Zakka, Hostage Aid President and Lebanese-American former hostage held captive abroad for four years

“Hostage-taking is a crime against humanity that requires our collective action. This high-level UN gathering on countering hostage-taking was a milestone in the pursuit of justice, and helped pave the path toward ending this growing global scourge. We must not relent until every captive is free.”