The United Nations said that 62 aid workers have been killed since the beginning of this year, across the world, while 84 others have been wounded and 34 have been kidnapped. Last year, the total number of deaths reached 116.
This came as this international organization is preparing to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the devastating attack on its headquarters in the Iraqi capital.
The United Nations celebrates “World Humanitarian Day” on August 19 of each year, on the anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 22 people, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the then UN Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Iraq.
For years on end, South Sudan was the most dangerous place in the world for aid workers. As of August 10, 40 attacks on humanitarian personnel had been recorded, and these attacks claimed the lives of 22 people, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
It is followed on the list by Sudan, with 17 attacks on aid workers and 19 deaths since the beginning of the year. Such high figures have not been recorded since the conflict in Darfur between 2006 and 2009.
Other countries in which humanitarian workers have been killed include Central Africa, Mali, Somalia, Ukraine and Yemen.
Risks beyond human comprehension
“The risks we face are beyond human comprehension,” said a report prepared by NGOs including Doctors of the World, Action Against Hunger and Handicap International – with the help of the European Union.
According to the international non-governmental organization “Safety”, more than 90% of the victims of attacks on aid workers, annually, were local residents.
This year’s World Humanitarian Day coincides with the 20th anniversary of the bombing that targeted the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, where the United Nations headquarters was located in the Iraqi capital.
The bombing was carried out in 2003, amid the chaos of the US-led invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein. The attack killed 22 people, including the Brazilian de Mello, and wounded 150 local and international aid workers.
“World Humanitarian Day and the Canal Hotel bombing will always be an occasion for mixed feelings for me and many others,” said UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief Martin Griffiths.
“Every year, more than 6 times the number of those killed on that dark day die in the line of duty in Baghdad, and the majority of them are aid workers,” he added.
“Impunity for these crimes is a scar on our collective conscience,” he added.
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2023-08-17 11:02:05
