The UN reported on Wednesday that humanitarian workers are being killed at an “unprecedented” level, with 2024 being the “worst year” on record for aid personnel.
“According to the available data, 2024 was the worst year on record, with 377 aid workers killed in 20 countries. This was nearly 100 more fatalities than in 2023, which had already seen a 137% increase over 2022,” Joyce Msuya, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, told the UN Security Council.
Msuya highlighted that “the last two years have been particularly brutal,” citing Sudan, where at least 84 humanitarian workers, all Sudanese, have been killed since the conflict began in April 2023.
She said the crisis was highlighted by a recent incident in Rafah, Gaza, in which UN and Red Crescent teams discovered the bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers in a mass grave.
“Their clearly marked vehicles were found destroyed and crushed,” the UN official revealed, adding that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) team also “witnessed civilians being shot while fleeing.”
Noting that the number of aid workers killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is more than 408, Msuya warned that “Gaza is the most dangerous place for humanitarians ever.”
Calling on the Security Council for urgent action, Msuya asked: “What are you going to do to help us find those answers and achieve justice? And avoid more killings?”
She urged member states to “act to ensure respect for international law and to protect humanitarian and UN workers,” “speak out” against violence against aid workers, and “request accountability” by prosecuting perpetrators and assisting survivors.
“We have become numb to this violence,” she warned.
Emphasizing the disproportionate lack of media coverage for local aid workers, she said: “The vast majority of those killed—about 95%—are local aid workers, the cornerstone of relief efforts.”
“As we mourn the loss of our colleagues, we must demand that concrete action be taken to ensure our teams can work safely,” Msuya said.
Gilles Michaud, undersecretary-general for safety and security at the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS), also urged the Council to act.
“I asked all member states to join the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel and its Optional Protocol,” he said, lamenting the lack of progress.
“No additional Member State has taken meaningful steps to join the Convention,” he added.
Despite the dangers, Michaud said: “There are, and always will be, many people with the passion and courage to help the most vulnerable—even in the most dangerous places. They represent the best of our shared humanity.”