Atrocities Against Aid Workers
LAW condemns the increase in deliberate and targeted attacks on aid workers in recent years and the very high rates of impunity for these attacks. Very few perpetrators are being held accountable and there are virtually no prosecutions. Very few aid workers receive legal advice about the range of options to pursue justice and accountability. Just a few organisations are equipped to support their staff to pursue legal action, which is often viewed as too challenging and unlikely to succeed.
Incidents of violence against aid workers (2024)
310
Aid workers killed
72
Aid workers kidnapped
240
Aid workers injured
199
Aid workers arrested
Trend of Attacks
More aid workers have been killed in 2024 than in any other year on record, the United Nations has said.
At least 281 aid workers have been killed across 19 countries, surpassing the previous record of 280 aid workers killed in 2023, according to data from the Aid Worker Security Database (AWDS).
In 2023, the conflicts in Sudan and Gaza added these two contexts in the list of the most dangerous operational contexts for aid workers. In the history of UN, Gaza has been the conflict were most UN staff was killed, counting more than 100 deaths within a little more than a month of conflict.
Extreme levels of violence in Sudan and South Sudan have contributed to the tragic death toll, both in 2023 and in 2024.
In all these conflicts, most of the casualties are among national staff.
Many humanitarian workers also continue to be detained in Yemen.
Impunity of Atrocities Against Aid Workers
The trends in violence against humanitarian personnel have accelerated over the last 20 years with very little or no legal responses, resulting in almost total impunity for atrocities against aid workers. The international response has focused mainly on security council resolutions, condemnations, and expressions of outrage with very little impact in real terms as the number of attacks on aid workers continue to increase, with virtually no accountability.
As well as low prosecution rates, the rate of reporting is alarmingly low. Humanitarian aid worker victims and survivors have been reluctant to pursue cases for a range of reasons, including a lack of advice and support, limited financial capacity, security risks (actual and perceived), and deeply ingrained perceptions that it is not possible to achieve any form of justice or accountability.
It is imperative that the gaps in the system are addressed, and that humanitarian aid workers receive the same protection of the law, and access to justice, that the humanitarian system strives to ensure for the communities it works for.
How is LAW Responding?
Since November 2022, LAW with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (CDCS) is implementing a ground breaking project providing legal aid to national staff of national and international NGOs that have been victims of attacks. The project aims to address the gap in the provision of legal support to aid workers and to raise awareness among the humanitarian community on the avenues available to Access justice.
Together with GISF, and funded by the European Union, LAW is leading Protect Aid Workers – a rapid-response mechanism that has the objective to strengthen assistance to aid workers who have experienced security incidents, are under immediate threat of harm, or have been arrested and/or are facing legal charges due to their work as a humanitarian. Find more information here.
Furthermore, LAW has been engaging in in-depth research on what are the barriers that prevent aid workers and organizations for reporting and addressing the attacks through legal avenues. This research led to the report Justice and Accountability for attacks on aid workers – What are the barriers and how to overcome them?.
New report: Justice and accountability for attacks on aid workers – What are the barriers and how to overcome them?
The increase in attacks against humanitarian personnel has a direct impact on civilians who need to access life-saving services. Noting the humanitarian community’s outrage and call for concrete action, a new research proposes recommendations to improve accountability of the perpetrators of attacks and justice for the victims.
NEW YORK (20 May 2024) – States and humanitarians must act to support justice and accountability for humanitarian personnel, especially national and locally recruited personnel, when they are attacked as they deliver essential aid under extreme circumstances. A new report by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) identifies the barriers to seeking justice and accountability for aid workers, and shares concrete and creative recommendations to improve their access to legal aid and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
For this research, extensive consultations were undertaken, including interviews with 73 individuals from 43 different organisations, roundtables with 26 experts, an anonymous online survey of 28 national and international aid workers and a review of 24 reports, articles and sets of guidelines available in open source.
The research reveals that while 81% of the aid workers who took the online survey had been the victim or had a colleague who was the victim of an incident of violence in the course of their work, and 83% would like to get legal advice if they were the victim of violence, only 18% did obtain legal advice.
The reseach identified four main barriers.
“People lack information on who to report to”
Lack of access to legal information and assistance. Aid workers often did not know which legal frameworks provide protection to aid workers and which legal avenues are available. Legal assistance was generally misunderstood and undervalued.
“The system to hold people accountable is broken”
View that pursuing justice as too difficult, expensive, and risky. Due to the difficult contexts in which they operate, aid workers are reluctant to consider engaging with formal justice systems due to perceptions about lack of capacity and corruption. They are also discouraged by how long processes take, and how much they cost. They raised concerns about the risk of reprisals to staff and their families.
“It was a work accident, it happens”
Shifting of Responsibility. There is an overwhelming perception that organisations are exclusively responsible for incidents affecting their staff, almost to the exclusion of the perpetrator. In addition, national staff members especially tend to normalise violence, which leads to a sense that they have no legitimacy to initiate legal proceedings.
“There are many other interest at stake despite holding the perpetrator accountable”
Fear of Losing Access and Funding. Aid workers fear that initiating proceedings could result in a loss of access to vulnerable communities and consequently result in a loss of funding.
To overcome these barriers, the report proposes a set of six concrete and creative recommendations:
- Establish a pool of qualified and independent lawyers to provide free legal information, assistance, and representation to humanitarian personnel and especially locally recruited personnel. Receiving legal information, being heard, understanding the violations you have suffered, and hearing the options available for legal redress is already a crucial step in the recovery process of a victim of crime. Lawyers can provide legal information and assistance, represent them throughout legal processes when appropriate, undertake risk assessments and take measures to mitigate risks.
- Create a roster of deployable and experienced experts/investigators and an online helpline to conduct independent investigations into incidents when appropriate and to advise organisations on immediate steps to collect and preserve evidence, significantly improving the likelihood of perpetrators being held accountable later.
- Ensure systematic dialogue and a response to the targeting of humanitarian personnel by organising an annual forum of relevant stakeholders to review the numbers of attacks and efforts to address justice and accountability. In addition, justice and accountability should systematically be on the agenda of the IASC Principals, to ensure that a space is specifically created to discuss and strategise on how to address this complex but critical issue.
- Report on action taken on justice and accountability, including investigations, to the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly, through the Emergency Relief Coordinator or another UN mechanism. In the event of a serious incident or series of incidents that could constitute a serious violation under IHL, there must be an immediate requirement to deploy qualified and independent investigators to support, where appropriate, state investigations.
- Improve internal procedures to ensure that aid workers can safely access legal assistance and ensure that legal assistance is part of the duty of care package. Managing the risks around accessing legal assistance and pursuing justice and accountability can be integrated into organisational risk management strategies, which should also include a detailed analysis of the impact of failing to address impunity on access to vulnerable communities.
- Support organisations who pursue justice and accountabilityby engaging UN Country Teams and donors who have a close relationship with national authorities at the highest levels. They can support NGOs or individual aid workers who risk losing access or fear reprisals, through diplomatic intervention.
Member States, the UN and NGOs must urgently act to improve access to justice for humanitarian personnel when they are the victim of attacks or are under threat due to their work as a humanitarian. They must support efforts to hold the perpetrators accountable. Mechanisms providing legal aid for aid workers, such as the Protect Aid Workers project and LAW’s accountability for aid workers initiative must be funded and accessible to humanitarian personnel, especially locally recruited personnel.
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Justice and Accountability for Attacks on Aid Workers
Latest events
- Geneva, 25 March 2025 – Protecting aid workers: From policy to action was a side event to the Humanitarian Network and Partnerships Week (HNPW 2025), organised in partnership with the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations Office, Protect Aid Workers, Protect Humanitarians, the Global Interagency Security Forum, and Action Contre la Faim. The event brought together member states, NGOs, and initiatives to examine how commitments made under UN Security Council Resolution 2730 and related efforts can translate into tangible protections for aid workers in the field. More information here.
- Brussels, 3-4 February 2025 – A critical workshop, organized by Protect Humanitarians and Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), addressed the growing threats to humanitarian aid workers globally and identified concrete ways forward. The event, “Justice and Accountability for Attacks Against Humanitarian Personnel,” brought together more than 40 humanitarian NGOs, UN, legal professionals, member states, and key stakeholders to discuss the urgent need to strengthen legal protection, demand accountability, and explore avenues for legal remedies for survivors and victims of violence against aid workers. More information here.
- New York, 20 May 2024 – LAW co-hosted a side event to Protection of Civilians Week in New York, titled “Advancing the protection of aid workers”. The event was organised in partnership with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Permanent Representation of France to the UN in New York, the Permanent Representation of Switzerland to the UN in New York, the Permanent Representation of Canada to the UN in New York, the Permanent Representation of Brazil to the UN in New York, the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS), Action Against Hunger International (AAH/ACF) and Nonviolent Peaceforce. More information here.
