HRC 63 – Written statement on arbitrary detention

Interactive Dialogue with Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 

15 September 2026

Mr. President, 

Arrests and detentions of aid workers increased by more than 520 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with 280 aid workers detained last year, while an additional 350 aid workers were killed. 

Legal Action Worldwide’s work has further shown the consequences of detention beyond the individuals concerned, including for their families, organisations, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. 

Aid workers in detention continue to face inadequate access to legal counsel, incommunicado detention, insufficient information about the grounds for their detention, and proceedings that do not meet basic due process guarantees. 

Counterterrorism and national security laws are also increasingly being used against humanitarian personnel, including on the basis of allegations that legitimate humanitarian activities amount to support for terrorism, irregular migration, or threats to national security. In some cases, aid workers have also reported ill-treatment, sexual violence, and torture in detention. 

These practices violate the fundamental rights of those detained and impede the often crucial and lifesaving delivery of humanitarian assistance. 

Mr. President,

what can this Council and its mechanisms do to address the increasing detention of humanitarian personnel and ensure accountability where violations occur? 

We thank you.