World Humanitarian Day: UN Condemns Record Violence Against Aid Workers

Rabat – As the world recognizes World Humanitarian Day today, the United Nations sharply criticizes the “unacceptable” and increasingly normalized violence against humanitarian workers, stressing that 280 such workers were killed worldwide in 2023. This is a record high exacerbated by the ongoing genocide in Gaza, with the possibility of an even higher toll by the end of 2024.

Since October 7, the unyielding and murderous Israeli campaign has killed over 40,100 Palestinians and injured more than 90,000 others, with many more presumed to be deceased, missing amongst the rubble.

Joyce Msuya, acting head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), condemned the situation on World Humanitarian Day.

“The normalization of violence against humanitarian workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, intolerable, and extremely dangerous for humanitarian operations everywhere,” Msuya stated in a recent UN article.

According to OCHA, 2023 was the deadliest year on record for the international humanitarian community, marking a 137% increase from 2022, which saw 118 deaths. These statistics, sourced from the Aid Worker Security Database, date back to 1997.

Record fatalities and regional impacts

UN data reveals that over half of the deaths in 2023, amounting to 163 workers, took place in Gaza during the initial three months of Israel’s genocide, primarily due to airstrikes.

Other major regions of concern include South Sudan, which is grappling with ongoing civil and inter-communal violence. Since mid-April 2023, the crisis has become one of the largest displacement emergencies globally, with more than 12 million people—about a quarter of the country’s population—forced from their homes.

World Vision reports that Sudan now has the highest number of displaced children worldwide.

The situation has escalated to near-famine levels, with severe food shortages affecting the nation.

The top ten list of most dangerous regions for humanitarian workers also includes Israel and Syria (seven deaths each), Ethiopia and Ukraine (six each), Somalia (five), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar (four each).

While the 280 deaths in 2023 are already deemed “inadmissible,” the UN fears that 2024 might surpass this grim milestone.

The Aid Worker Security Database reports that between January 1 and August 9, 2024, 176 humanitarian workers were killed, with 121 of those in Palestinian territories—surpassing the number of deaths in most previous years.

Since October 2023, over 280 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza, including a significant number from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to UN data.

World Humanitarian Day through the years: escalating crisis and call for action

In response, humanitarian organizations will send a joint letter to UN member states today, demanding an end to attacks on civilians, protection for all humanitarian workers, and accountability for perpetrators.

OCHA is urging the public to support this campaign on social media under the hashtag #ActforHumanity.

The 2024 World Humanitarian Day campaign, #ActForHumanity, focuses on addressing the alarming rise in attacks against humanitarian workers and civilians, advocating for the enforcement of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to end impunity for these violations.

World Humanitarian Day, celebrated annually on August 19, marks the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN’s special representative in Iraq, and injured around 150 other local and international humanitarian workers.

It was first celebrated on August 19, 2009, and has since been marked by annual themes highlighting various aspects of humanitarian work.

In 2010, the focus was on celebrating the efforts and accomplishments of field workers under the theme “We are Humanitarian Workers.” The 2011 campaign, titled “People Helping People,” aimed to inspire widespread engagement in aid efforts. Later, the 2012 campaign, “I Was Here,” encouraged individuals to leave a positive impact by doing something meaningful for others.