SG/SM/17335

Provide Experts Dealing with Death of Dag Hammarskjöld with All Relevant Unreleased Information, Secretary-General Urges Member States

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

On 2 July, the Secretary-General transmitted to the President of the General Assembly the report of the Independent Panel of Experts regarding the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him.  The report of the Panel and its appendices were issued in General Assembly document A/70/132 and are available to all Member States and to the public at large.

The Secretary-General is grateful to Member States for their cooperation thus far.  However, some of the Panel’s requests for information have not been conclusively answered.  There is a possibility that unreleased material relating to the crash of flight SE-BDY on the night between 17 and 18 September 1961 may still be available.  Therefore, the Secretary-General again urges all Member States to disclose, declassify or otherwise make available all information they may have in their possession related to the circumstances and conditions of the crash.

The Secretary-General welcomes the General Assembly’s upcoming consideration of a resolution on the issue on 19 November.  It underlines the importance of addressing the outcome of the Panel’s report.  The Secretary-General reaffirms that he is personally invested in fulfilling our duty to the distinguished former Secretary-General and those who accompanied him, to endeavour to establish the facts after so many years, and will inform the Assembly on any further progress made before the end of its seventieth session.

For information media. Not an official record.