According to figures used by the UN, 280 aid workers were killed in 33 countries last year. This record was fueled by the war in Gaza and is likely to be broken as early as 2024.
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The UN on Monday, August 19, condemned the violence “inadmissible” which are becoming commonplace against humanitarian workers, 280 of whom were killed worldwide in 2023. This is a record fueled by the war in Gaza and which risks being broken as early as 2024. “The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability is unacceptable, unconscionable and extremely dangerous for humanitarian operations everywhere.”denounced Joyce Msuya, acting head of the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day.
“Dear world leaders, what more is needed before you act?”
Joyce Msuya, acting head of the UN humanitarian office
“In Gaza, Sudan, and many other places, humanitarian workers are being attacked, killed, injured and kidnapped. We demand an end to impunity so that those responsible are brought to justice.”added UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarians. Celebrating them on World Humanitarian Day is not enough”he insisted.
According to figures from the Aid Worker Security Database, used by the UN, 280 aid workers were killed in 33 countries last year. This was the deadliest year on record since records began in 1997 and a 137% increase from 2022 (118 killed). More than half of the 2023 deaths (163) were aid workers killed in Gaza during the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas, mainly in airstrikes.
South Sudan, hit by civil and intercommunal violence, and Sudan, where a war between two rival generals has been raging since April 2023, are the two other deadliest conflicts for humanitarians, with 34 and 25 deaths respectively. Also in the top 10 are Israel and Syria (seven deaths each), Ethiopia and Ukraine (six deaths each), Somalia (five), the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma (four each).