Gathered beneath the shadows of a blue-stained glass window illuminating a scene depicting the ongoing struggle for peace, and in front of a fallen flag from a past attack on UN staff members enshrined as a memorial, UN staff members on Friday paid a somber tribute to their fallen colleagues in a moment of silence to mark the second anniversary of the attack in Algiers, the Algerian capital.

Standing next to the wreath for the victims at the UN headquarters in New York, UN Security Officers wearing white gloves paid homage to the 17 UN staff members that died in the terrorist attack at the world body's offices in Algiers on Dec. 11, 2007.

The war-torn flag in the background served as a stark reminder of past attacks on UN staff.

Director of the News and Media Division of the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) Ahmad Fawzi read the names of the 17 victims at the ceremony, where UN staff members paid their respects.

"It seems such a short time ago that I was in Algiers, meeting the traumatized family members and colleagues of those who were killed," said UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in his address at the ceremony. "I will never forget the sadness and anger I felt that day."

"The attack has caused suffering and grief that will never go away," Ban said, underscoring that "nothing can ever justify wanton killing and destruction."

"It is by persevering in the face of such adversity that we demonstrate yet again the greatest strength of the United Nations: the commitment of our staff," he said.

Also recognizing the bombing in Baghdad in 2003 and this year's attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ban pointed to a truth that the UN must see -- "The United Nations is now a target of terrorist groups," he said while emphasizing that "we are still considering all the implications of this fact."

Ensuring staff members that they will have the "safest conditions possible" to carry out their work, Ban said he was working with the Department of Safety and Security and with member states.

"UN staff are on the ground throughout the world not to benefit one group or another, but to strive for global peace and security, for human rights and for development, for all the world's people," Ban said.

"The men and women whose loss we mourn today embodied those ideals," Ban said. "We remember them with pride."

A moment of silence clouded the room in a normally busy General Assembly lobby in remembrance where Ban and another UN staff member approached the wreath and silently paid their tribute.

Onlooker and fellow UN staffer Noel Leon said that "it was a sad moment," but important to pay respects for the fallen colleagues.

The Dec. 11, 2007 attack claimed the lives of 17 UN staff members working for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Food Program (WFP), the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The 17 UN staff members were killed, and 40 others injured, when a car bomb destroyed the offices of the UN Development Program (UNDP) and damaged those of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Algiers.

Just 20 minutes before the attack on the UN offices, terrorists also struck the Algerian Constitutional Court, killing at least 14 people.

The Friday ceremony was organized by several UN agencies, including the UN Staff Council, UNDP, UNFPA and the UN International Civil Servants Federation.

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