GENEVA (AFP) - A staggering 281 aid workers have been killed around the world so far this year, making 2024 the deadliest year for humanitarians, the UN aid chief said on Friday (Nov 22).
"Humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, their courage and humanity being met with bullets and bombs," said Tom Fletcher, the United Nations' new under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
With more than a month left to go of 2024, the "grim milestone was reached", he said, after 280 humanitarians were killed across 33 countries during all of 2023.
"This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid operations," Fletcher said.
Israel's devastating war in Gaza was driving up the numbers, his office said, with 333 aid workers killed there – most from the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA – since Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attacks, which sparked the war.
"States and parties to conflict must protect humanitarians, uphold international law, prosecute those responsible, and call time on this era of impunity," Fletcher said.
Aid workers were subject to kidnappings, injuries, harassment and arbitrary detention in a range of countries, his office said, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Ukraine.
The majority of deaths involve local staff working with non-governmental organisations, UN agencies and the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, Fletcher's office said.
"Violence against humanitarian personnel is part of a broader trend of harm to civilians in conflict zones," it warned.
"Last year, more than 33,000 civilian deaths were recorded in 14 armed conflicts – a staggering 72 per cent increase from 2022."
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution last May in response to the surging violence and threats against aid workers.
The text called for recommendations from the UN chief – set to be presented at a council meeting next week – on measures to prevent and respond to such incidents and to increase protection for humanitarian staff and accountability for abuses.