Humanitarian work: 2023 was the deadliest year on record, with nearly 300 workers killed in war zones

ROMA – 280 aid workers killed in 33 countries last year: 2023 was the deadliest year on record for the global humanitarian community. This data, released by theUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on the occasion of August 19, World Humanitarian Dayhighlights a 137% increase in deaths compared to 2022, the year in which 118 workers of non-governmental organizations and UN agencies were killed. And if 2023 was a bloody year, 2024 could be even worse: as of August 7, 172 humanitarian workers have already been killed according to a count reported by theAid Worker Security Database.

The details. More than half of the deaths in 2023 were recorded in the first three months of the war in the Gaza Strip, from October to December, and were mainly caused by airstrikes. The majority of aid workers who died last year, in fact, were staff members of theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and were killed in the Strip alone. The extreme levels of violence in the war in Sudan also contributed significantly to the tragic toll. Many aid workers remain detained in Yemen. “The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable and very damaging to aid operations everywhere,” said Joyce Msuya, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief. “People in power should act to put an end to violations against civilians and the impunity with which these atrocious crimes are committed,” Msuya continued.

The appeal. 413 humanitarian organizations around the world have signed an appeal calling for the protection of civilians, including their own staff. The letter highlights how in conflicts it is mostly national NGO staff, i.e. those living in the countries where there is fighting, who die, and how women-led organizations and humanitarian workers routinely face greater risks solely for reasons of gender. The letter concludes with a request to respect UN Security Council Resolution 2730, adopted in May this year, which provides for the protection, in conflict zones, of all national and international humanitarian workers, the places where they work and their property and which underlines the need for violations of international humanitarian law to be punished.

Simple declarations are not enough. Meeting these obligations requires more than just declarations, the NGOs write. Turning a blind eye to the targeting of humanitarian workers only emboldens those who seek to undermine the work of those who assist and deliver aid; it increases food insecurity, child malnutrition, involuntary displacement, and the spread of infectious diseases and other threats. And the immediate effects of this are likely not limited to conflict areas, but often extend far beyond.