Bettina Goislard

Bettina Goislard (11 November 1974 – 16 November 2003) was a French employee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), assigned to its mission in Afghanistan. She was the first UN worker to be killed in that country since the fall of the Taleban in December 2001.

Bettina Goislard was born in Saumur, France, the daughter of career diplomat Bernard Goislard and his English wife. She took a degree Arabic in Paris and Cairo and, after graduation, was hired by the UNHCR in June 1999 for a field assignment in Rwanda.

She spent almost three years in Rwanda, working to assist returning refugees. She then moved on to Guinea and, in June 2002, was reassigned to the agency's ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.

Goislard was involved in the UNHCR's efforts to help about 50,000 displaced Afghans return to their homes in and around the city of Ghazni in the southeast of the country.

On 16 November 2003, while driving through the streets of Ghazni in a clearly identified UNHCR vehicle, she was shot at point-blank range by two men on a motorcycle. She was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital some minutes later.

Her two assailants caught and beaten by a local crowd, and then arrested by local security forces. On 18 November, the Taleban claimed responsbility for her murder, citing Goislard's Christianity as their motivation. The UN immediately scaled back its efforts, withdrawing its international refugee workers from four provinces.

Following her wishes, Bettina Goislard was buried in Kabul on 20 November 2003.