The United Nations has condemned the escalating violence against humanitarian workers, with 2023 recording a grim milestone of 280 aid workers killed globally, a 137% increase from the previous year
. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted this alarming trend on World Humanitarian Day, emphasizing the dire impact on global aid operations.
Joyce Msuya, OCHA's acting director, expressed deep concern over the "normalization of violence" against aid workers and the ongoing lack of accountability for these attacks.
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The agency cited the Aid Worker Security Database, which has tracked such incidents since 1997, noting that 2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers.
A significant portion of these fatalities, 163 out of 280, occurred in Gaza during the first three months of the Israel-Hamas conflict, primarily due to airstrikes.
Other dangerous regions for aid workers include South Sudan, with 34 deaths, and Sudan, with 25 fatalities amidst ongoing civil conflicts. Additionally, Israel, Syria, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Somalia, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also reported aid worker deaths.
The UN fears that 2024 could surpass these grim numbers, with 176 humanitarian workers already killed as of August 9. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has claimed the lives of over 280 aid workers in Gaza since October, is a significant contributor to this toll. Most of the casualties are local staff members.
In response to this crisis, humanitarian leaders have called on the international community to protect aid workers, end attacks on civilians, and hold perpetrators accountable.
The UN commemorates World Humanitarian Day every August 19, marking the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of its Baghdad headquarters, which killed 22 people and injured many others.
