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The Guardian
05-04-2025
- The Guardian
Our aid workers were brutally killed and thrown into a mass grave in Gaza. This must never happen again
Which was most horrific? The agonising week-long wait – silence after our colleagues went missing, as we suspected the worst but hoped for something different? Or the confirmation, seven days later, that bodies had been found? Or, since, the ghastly details of how they were found, and killed? Their ambulances were crushed and partly buried. Nearby were their bodies – also buried, en masse, in the sand. Our dead colleagues were still wearing their Red Crescent vests. In life, those uniforms signalled their status as humanitarian workers; they should have protected them. Instead, in death, those red vests became their shrouds. Ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer and Ezzedine Shaath, and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed Al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed Al-Sharif and Rifatt Radwan were good people. Alongside fellow Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance officer Asaad Al-Nasasra – who is still missing – and medical and humanitarian workers from other organisations, they were in emergency vehicles, rushing in to do what they do. Post-ceasefire Gaza is dangerous, of course. But these men were not cavalier. They believed their Red Crescent-marked vehicles would make it clear who was inside and their purpose. They believed international humanitarian law meant something; that healthcare workers would be protected. They assumed that meant they would not be a target. But they were wrong. Tragically, horrifically wrong. So I'm writing with a plea. Make that assumption right again. Those deaths in Gaza – while especially awful – were part of a growing trend. More and more humanitarian aid workers are being killed around the world. The trend must be reversed. As the secretary general of a worldwide humanitarian federation, a network of 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies with more than 16 million staff and volunteers, I'm well used to trauma. Helping people prepare for crisis and then dealing with it when it hits is what our people do. Right now, thousands of colleagues from the Myanmar Red Cross are helping people with their immediate post-earthquake needs. In Russia and Ukraine our members are helping people affected on both sides of the conflict. Our teams can help people deal with trauma. But they should not be subjected to it because of what they do. International humanitarian law requires that. Health and humanitarian aid workers must be protected. They wear emblems for a reason. Yet according to the Aid Worker Security Database, they are being killed in growing numbers. In 2023, that number was 280. Our network lost 18 that year on duty – including six from our national society in Israel, Magen David Adom, on that awful day in October. Last year, a record 382 humanitarians are known to have been killed. Of those, 32 were members of our Red Cross or Red Crescent societies, including 18 from the Palestine Red Crescent Society. A further eight were killed while working in Sudan. This year is looking even worse. We cannot allow these deaths – any of these attacks – to become normalised. We must reject any narrative that they are inevitable, or part of the risk of the job. I'm grateful for the political, media and online outrage over the deaths of our workers last month. I share it. But we must all go further. First, we must see the same when any humanitarian is killed, wherever and whenever. Too often when a worker is local to the community they serve, there is far less attention than when an 'international' worker dies. Second, we must demand that governments change their behaviour and that of those who answer to them. Whatever the circumstances, states have a legal responsibility to protect all civilians, including humanitarian workers. There must be tangible consequences for those who commit the atrocity of killing – through malice or recklessness – humanitarians trying to help. Third, other governments have a duty to put diplomatic and political pressure on their peers. This week, leaders of the Palestine Red Crescent Society have travelled from the West Bank to New York to brief the UN security council and demand more protection for humanitarian workers. In Geneva, I have made 'protect humanity' central to my engagement with governments, publicly and privately. But at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) we tread a fine line. Neutrality and impartiality are at our core – constitutional, fundamental principles of our organisation. Straying from them could impede our work. Our job is to manage consequences, not point fingers at causes. Even in circumstances as horrific as those of last month, or 18 months ago in Israel, neither I nor my organisation assign blame towards people, groups, institutions or governments. You'll notice I don't in this article, even as others on this website and elsewhere do exactly that. Why? Because we believe in sticking to our principles just as we demand others stick to laws, especially international humanitarian law. We hope our commitments to neutrality and impartiality mean our voice carries even more weight when we demand justice. And demand justice we do. In Gaza, independent investigators must be allowed access and given full details of what happened two Sundays ago, however uncomfortable for those who have them. There must be respect for those who died through consequences for those who killed them. Impunity in any place breeds impunity in every place. That can never stand. Last week the IFRC's president and I sent letters of condolence to the families of three of our network's members in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Syria. We mourned their loss and, through an EU-supported Red Family Fund that we wish we didn't need, offered token financial contributions. Similar letters will be sent soon to grieving families in Gaza. But letters of condolence, of course, are far too little, far too late. What will make a difference is if the tide of disrespect for international humanitarian law is turned. I am outraged. But I'm also tired of being outraged. Humanitarian aid workers must be protected. For the sake, quite simply, of humanity. Jagan Chapagain is secretary general of the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)
Express Tribune
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan for action against violators
Amid record high killing of humanitarian personnel in conflict zones around the world, Pakistan has called on the UN Security Council to push for sanctions and legal action against violators. "impunity must end," Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member council during a debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. "Impunity is not merely a failure of justice - it is a license for repetition, he said, adding, "Timely, independent and impartial investigations must hold perpetrators accountable." In this regard, the Pakistani envoy urged the creation of a "global implementation dashboard" for that resolution - it should provide real-time public tracking of violations, investigations and their outcomes "for everyone to see and follow". The escalating attacks on humanitarian personnel are not just isolated incidents - "they reflect a growing disregard for international norms," Ambassador Asim said, adding that it is unacceptable that those who work to provide "dignity amidst displacement" are met "not with gratitude, but with gunfire". According to the Aid Worker Security Database, 379 humanitarian personnel were killed in 2024.
Arab News
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UK's UN envoy urges stronger protection for aid workers at UN Security Council meeting
LONDON: UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward has called for urgent action to protect aid workers in conflict zones as she addressed a UN Security Council session on implementing Resolution 2730. Speaking at the meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, Woodward stressed the importance of maintaining momentum in ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of humanitarian workers. 'I pay tribute to those on the frontline and extend my condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives,' she said. Woodward highlighted the escalating risks faced by aid workers, citing figures from the Aid Worker Security Database that recorded 64 deaths, 36 injuries, and eight kidnappings in just the first three months of 2025. She noted that the majority of those affected were local or national aid workers. 'The most dangerous place to deliver humanitarian assistance is Gaza, with over 400 aid workers reportedly killed since the beginning of the conflict,' she said, adding that Sudan and South Sudan are also high-risk locations. She expressed concern over the detention of aid workers by the Houthis in Yemen, calling for their immediate release, and stressed the need to protect those responding to the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Myanmar. Marking the one-year anniversary of the attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza, in which seven aid workers, including three British citizens, were killed, Woodward renewed calls for the conclusion of the Military Advocate General's review into the incident. 'We continue to call for the conclusion of the Military Advocate General's consideration of the incident, including determining whether criminal proceedings should be initiated,' she said. She also condemned the recent killing of eight medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, along with first responders and a UN aid worker in Gaza. 'We call for a thorough and swift investigation with meaningful accountability for those responsible,' she said, urging Israel to support efforts to locate PRCS medic Asaad Al-Nasasra, who remains missing. Woodward emphasized the need for all parties in conflict to comply with international humanitarian law, ensuring that humanitarian supplies, personnel, and aid workers are respected and protected. 'States must investigate attacks on aid workers and hold perpetrators to account. Effective, trusted deconfliction mechanisms must be set up and used,' she said. She also urged the strengthening of international commitments to aid worker protection, highlighting the UK's participation in an Australian-led ministerial group working to develop a political declaration aimed at driving global action on the issue. 'The UK is proud to be part of the Australian-led Ministers Group to develop a political declaration to galvanize collective action to protect aid workers, and we encourage others to join,' she said. Additionally, she called for greater support for humanitarian organizations, including local groups, whose work is hindered by inadequate funding and operational risks. 'Actors who play a fundamental role in aid worker safety face operational risks due to inadequate funding,' she said, pointing to the UK's support for key security-focused groups such as the Aid Worker Security Database and the International NGO Safety Organization. Woodward reaffirmed the UK's unwavering commitment to ensuring aid workers can operate safely, saying: 'The UK remains steadfast in our commitment to allowing aid workers to do their job in safety and preventing violence against aid workers from becoming the new normal.'
