Side event - Protection of Civilians Week: Advancing the protection of aid workers (20 May 2024)

With the participation of the Permanent Representation of France to the UN in New York, the Permanent Representation of Switzerland to the UN in New York, the Permanent Representation of Canada to the UN in New York, the Permanent Representation of Brazil to the UN in New York, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS), Legal Action Worldwide, Action Against Hunger International and Nonviolent Peaceforce.

Background

Amidst the backdrop of widespread conflicts and escalating humanitarian crises worldwide, protecting humanitarian workers is essential for delivering aid to those most in need. Efforts to ensure their safety and security have long been a focus within the humanitarian community.

However, despite clear international humanitarian law obligations to protect humanitarian workers and to prosecute war crimes, attacks persist. In 2023, the number of aid workers1 killed more than doubled in two years, from 118 aid workers killed in 2022 to 261 in 2023.78 aid workers were kidnapped and 196 wounded worldwide in 2023.New and improved approaches to enhance the protection of aid workers are required, in particular with regards to national staff members. The overwhelming majority of humanitarian staff killed or injured, as reported by the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), are national humanitarian workers. 4 They are typically the first to deliver aid in challenging environments, with often less measures to ensure their protection. As threats increase and protective measures are more difficult to implement in the areas where aid is most urgently needed, many humanitarian organisations find themselves lacking the requisite experience, knowledge, or capacity to effectively manage the security of their staff members.

International humanitarian law enshrines a clear obligation to protect humanitarian workers and to prosecute war crimes. Humanitarian organisations and their staff members, especially national ones, are necessary for the delivery of essential aid to civilians during conflict. Attacks on aid workers can constitute war crimes, and, due to the impact aid workers have on civilians’ access to life-saving aid, can also be elements of a crime against humanity or genocide. The UN Security Council has passed ten resolutions urging states to ensure that unlawful killings of aid workers do not remain unpunished.5 However, to date, they have continued with almost total impunity.

Access to justice for aid workers plays an essential role in combatting impunity for unlawful attacks against civilians, thus contributing to enhancing the protection of civilians more generally. But various barriers prevent aid workers from accessing justice, impacting staff members differently depending on their country of origin. Among other obstacles, aid workers fear retaliations against them, their co-workers, or their organisation if they file formal complaints. They also have limited access to legal assistance, leading to a limited knowledge of the avenues available to them. Those range from seeking civil remedies to criminal accountability, in domestic, regional or international forums, depending also on the capacity of the national criminal justice system. These factors, and others, lead to impunity for the perpetrators and silence for the victims. Moreover, as with all IHL and human rights violations and abuses, the limited number of legal proceedings aiming at holding the perpetrators accountable for serious violations can lead to more attacks on humanitarian aid workers as well as the civilian communities they work in.