20 years after the attack on the UN in Iraq, aid workers continue to risk their lives to save others' lives
The United Nations has warned that 2023 will be another year of high casualties among humanitarian workers. The announcement comes on the eve of World Humanitarian Day, which is observed every 19 August to honour those around the world who are committed to helping the communities they serve by going deep into disaster-affected regions and on the front lines of conflict.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recalls that humanitarian workers have no other purpose than to save and protect lives, and to assist those affected by meeting their basic survival needs. They work side by side with the communities they serve and provide hope on a daily basis.
However, so far this year, 62 humanitarian workers have lost their lives in crises around the world, 84 have been injured and 34 have been kidnapped, according to provisional data from the Humanitarian Security Database research team, a project of Humanitarian Outcome Consultants. Last year, the annual death toll was 116.
Attacks on humanitarian workers in Africa
South Sudan has been at the top of the insecurity list for several years in a row. As of 10 August, 40 attacks on aid workers and 22 fatalities had been recorded.
Sudan ranks second, with 17 attacks on aid workers and 19 fatalities so far this year. This exceeds numbers not seen since the peak of the Darfur conflict between 2006 and 2009. Casualties among aid workers have also been reported in the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia and Ukraine.
Some 444 aid workers were attacked last year. The year before, 460 humanitarians were attacked, resulting in 141 deaths.
20 years since the Baghdad suicide bombing
This year's World Humanitarian Day also marks 20 years since the 2003 suicide bombing of the UN headquarters at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed 22 UN staff. Some 150 other local and international humanitarian staff helping to rebuild Iraq were also injured on that fateful day.
"World Humanitarian Day and the Canal Hotel bombing will always be for me and many others an occasion of mixed and still raw emotions," said the UN humanitarian chief.
Martin Griffiths added: "Every year, almost six times as many aid workers are killed in the line of duty as those who died on that dark day in Baghdad, and the vast majority of them are local aid workers. Impunity for these crimes is a scar on our collective conscience. It is time we lived up to what we talk about defending international humanitarian law and stood up to impunity for violations".
"We Are Here" Campaign
In the face of soaring humanitarian needs, the UN and its partners are seeking to assist nearly 250 million people in crisis around the world, 10 times more than in 2003.
Despite security and access challenges, humanitarian workers share the mission of saving and protecting lives around the world. Under the motto "We Are Here", this 2023 they renew their commitment to help the communities they serve, no matter who, no matter where.