Humanitarian workers under attack: an unprecedented emergency.

photo by geralt on pixabay.com

The year 2024 marked one of the darkest periods for humanitarian staff. According to data released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on World Humanitarian Day, the toll reached record levels: 383 aid workers killed, 308 injured, 125 kidnapped, and 45 detained.

Most of the victims were national staff, men and women who, while living in the same communities affected by crises, continued to deliver aid not only in the field but were often targeted even in their own homes.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, condemned the situation in stark terms: “Every attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on the entire international community and on the people we strive to serve. The ongoing impunity is a political and moral failure.”

Compared to 2023, fatalities rose by 31%, with two war zones proving especially deadly: Gaza, where 181 aid workers were killed, and Sudan, with 60 deaths. In total, 21 countries recorded a rise in violence, with state armed groups identified as the most frequent perpetrators.

The outlook for 2025 is equally grim. In just the first eight months, provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database already record 265 aid workers killed, confirming a devastating trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

These attacks not only represent blatant violations of international humanitarian law but also erode trust in aid missions, cut off millions of people from lifesaving assistance, and jeopardize the very possibility of delivering relief in conflict and disaster zones.

In May 2024, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2730, reaffirming the obligation to protect humanitarian personnel and to launch independent investigations into attacks. Yet, without effective accountability mechanisms, most of these crimes remain unpunished.

For this reason, the United Nations and its partners relaunched the global #ActForHumanity campaign on 19 August, calling on governments and citizens to:

• ensure the protection of civilians and aid workers,

• support humanitarian missions,

• demand justice for victims.

  
  

As Fletcher concluded: “Violence against humanitarian workers is not inevitable. It can and must be stopped. Without safety for those who deliver aid, humanity itself becomes more vulnerable.”

Official Sources:

• ReliefWeb. (2025) World Humanitarian Day: Attacks on aid workers hit another record as humanitarians call for urgent action https://reliefweb.int/report/world/world-humanitarian-day-attacks-aid-workers-hit-another-record-humanitarians-call-urgent-action-19-august-2025-enarru

• United Nations. (n.d.) World Humanitarian Day. https://www.un.org/en/observances/humanitarian-day

• Aid Worker Security Database. (n.d.) Aid Worker Security Database. https://www.aidworkersecurity.org/

• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). (n.d.) UNOCHA. https://www.unocha.org/

written by Sara Maggetto