EHF 2025: Protecting Frontline Humanitarians: the case for strengthened duty of care, mental health support and survivor-centred accountability to local responders

European Humanitarian Forum 2025

Protecting Frontline Humanitarians: the case for strengthened duty of care, mental health support and survivor-centred accountability to local responders

Local humanitarian responders face growing risks, caught between the urgency of aid delivery and increasing violations of International Humanitarian Law. Despite their essential role, they receive inadequate support, with duty of care provisions and mental health resources largely skewed in favour of international agencies. Addressing this requires systemic change—embedding Duty of Care, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), and survivor-centred accountability as fundamental pillars of humanitarian action.

This Humanitarian Talk will highlight these urgent issues and advocate for reforms to better protect and support local responders. Participants will shed light on the psychological toll of frontline work and the need for improved duty of care and mental health support. Testimonies from local responders in Palestine, Sudan, and Ukraine will offer firsthand perspectives on challenges, inequities in protection, and barriers to accessing essential resources. A key focus will be Duty of Care, including access to mental health and psychosocial support, for frontline workers.

As attacks on humanitarian personnel reach record highs, the panellists will also explore how access to justice and accountability mechanisms could be strengthened to protect responders and address violations against them. It will examine how recent international commitments – such as UNSC Resolution 2730 on the protection of humanitarian personnel – can translate into concrete actions that provide more protection and care for those on the frontlines. Ultimately, this event aims to amplify local voices and push for meaningful reforms toward a more just, equitable, and survivor-centred humanitarian system.

Speakers