World Humanitarian Day – Who’s helping the helpers? 

In 2024 alone, violence against aid workers reached alarming levels: 383 killed, 125 kidnapped, and 308 wounded worldwide. Behind each number lies a person who dedicated their life to helping others — and a family, colleagues, and communities left to face the consequences. International law is clear: humanitarians must be respected and protected. They can never be targeted. Yet, too often, these attacks are met with silence and impunity. Photo: An aid worker runs past burning cars after an attack in Idlib, Syria, December 2024. Credit: UNOCHA/Ali Haj Suleiman

Since 2022, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) has led innovative efforts to improve the protection of humanitarian personnel, their premises, and assets through justice and accountability. LAW works directly with NGOs and families to gather information, provide legal advice, and represent victims before judicial and quasi-judicial bodies. This includes interviewing survivors and witnesses, preparing casefiles, and submitting evidence of violations. 

To date, 26 humanitarian organisations, representing 84 individuals killed, tortured, arbitrarily detained, or threatened, have received legal information, assistance, or representation from LAW in nine countries. LAW has filed three landmark cases, including one before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which resulted in provisional measures against Ethiopia — opening humanitarian access and ordering an end to torture and extrajudicial killings. Two further cases have been brought before domestic courts for war crimes and crimes against humanity against aid workers. 

In 2024, LAW also consulted more than 200 humanitarian professionals from over 50 organisations to produce the report Justice and Accountability for Attacks on Aid Workers: What are the Barriers and How to Overcome Them, which received strong support from Member States, NGOs, and UN agencies. 

Through the Protect Aid Workers initiative — in a consortium with GISF and Protect Humanitarians — LAW also provides direct legal support. Protect Aid Workers is an initiative that supports humanitarian workers of national and international organisations that have experienced a critical incident or are under threat due to their work as a humanitarian. The aim is to protect staff from further harm, support their recovery and improve their immediate and long-term well-being. Protect Aid Workers helps survivors recover from the consequences of kidnapping (listen to the testimony of Dr. Alemayehu Wassie, in Ethiopia) , supports the families of those killed (Listen to the testimony of Yaser Al Hattab, in Gaza), and enables evacuations in high-risk situations (listen to the testimony of Fatima Tahir Kharif, in Sudan).

On this World Humanitarian Day, LAW stands with those who risk their lives to protect and assist others. We will continue to fight for their rights, their safety, and the justice they deserve.