New Delhi: In progress at UNHQ, speakers today urged the Security Council and countries to act on the Secretary-General’s recommendations to safeguard aid and UN personnel, including providing greater support for them and ensuring accountability for perpetrators while noting that 2024 has been the ‘deadliest year for aid workers’.
In a press statement, the 15-member council expressed deep concern at the increase in attacks against humanitarian workers, noting that 2024 is set to be the deadliest year for aid workers with over 282 killed as of this morning. This number exceeds “last year’s awful total” of 280, more than double the annual average of the previous 10 years, and is attributed to major warfare and mass civilian losses in Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, and 17 other humanitarian response settings.
The council recalled its resolution 2730, adopted in May, which called on States to respect and protect UN and humanitarian personnel. It urged all member states and parties to armed conflict to take concrete measures to prevent attacks against humanitarian workers and ensure accountability for perpetrators. The council also encouraged the secretary-general and member states to strengthen efforts to support the protection of humanitarian workers.
Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security Gilles Michaud urged members to address the “profound lack of accountability for violence against humanitarian and UN personnel.” “The entire community of Member States must speak with moral clarity about the need to protect humanitarian workers and ensure accountability for acts of violence by any State and non-State actor, against humanitarians,” he said at the UNSC.