Back in August 2003, the United Nations faced one of its violent tragedies when a terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad claimed the lives of 22 people.
Among those killed was Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil, the UN envoy in Iraq and High Commissioner for Human Rights, who had a long and distinguished UN career stretching over 30 years.
As the UN commemorated World Humanitarian Day on August 19, it continues to be confronted with rising death tolls among both its humanitarian workers and peacekeepers worldwide.
The commemorative day was established by the General Assembly in 2008 after the 2003 bomb attack in Baghdad.
At last count, at least 254 aid workers have been killed since the current 10-month-old war began in Gaza on Oct. 7 last year, and about 188 worked for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
According to the UN, “2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers and 2024 is on track to be even worse”.
In a statement ahead of World Humanitarian Day, Dennis Francis, President of the193-member General Assembly said aid organizations – from all over the world – have united to call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, as well as to ensure their safe and unhindered access, including across conflict lines.
Attacks on humanitarian workers and humanitarian assets must stop, as well as on civilians and civilian infrastructure, he said.
Besides the UN and its agencies, some of the world’s humanitarian organizations in war zones include Doctors Without Borders, CARE International, Save the Children and the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
Last April, seven members from World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza. The WCK said its team was traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle.
Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in most dire situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said WCK CEO Erin Gore.
The seven killed were from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.
“I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” said Gore.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than half of the 2023 deaths were recorded in the first three months – October to December – of the hostilities in Gaza, mostly as a result of airstrikes.
Extreme levels of violence in Sudan and South Sudan have also 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.
“The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
“Today, we reiterate our demand that people in power act to end violations against civilians and the impunity with which these heinous attacks are committed.”
On this World Humanitarian Day, aid workers and those supporting their efforts around the globe have organized events to stand in solidarity and spotlight the horrifying toll of armed conflicts, including on humanitarian staff, she said.
In addition, a joint letter from leaders of humanitarian organizations will be sent to the Member States of the UN General Assembly asking the international community to end attacks on civilians, protect all aid workers, and hold perpetrators to account.
Everyone can add their voice by joining and amplifying the digital campaign using the hashtag #ActforHumanity.
Meanwhile, UN peacekeeping is considered virtually humanitarian—but with a military angle– in conflict ridden countries and war zones where they are also vulnerable to attacks.
At least 11 United Nations personnel — seven military personnel and four civilians — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2023, the United Nations Staff Union Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service pointed out.
And 32 UN peacekeeping personnel — 28 military and four police, including one woman police officer — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2022, the United Nations Staff Union said.
For the ninth year in a row, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was the deadliest for peacekeepers with 14 fatalities, followed by 13 fatalities in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), four fatalities in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and one fatality in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The figures for preceding years are as follows: 2021 (25 killed); 2020 (15 killed); 2019 (28 killed); 2018 (34 killed); 2017 (71 killed); 2016 (32 killed); 2015 (51 killed); 2014 (61 killed); 2013 (58 killed); 2012 (37 killed); 2011 (35 killed); and 2010 (15 killed).
Roderic Grigson, who was with the UN Emergency Force (UNEF II) on the Egyptian- Israeli border, told IPS the duties of a peacekeeper are extremely hazardous.
“Our job as peacekeepers was to insert ourselves between two warring forces and keep them apart while peace negotiations were conducted at the UN HQ in New York or elsewhere”
Sometimes, he said, those negotiations took years to happen. “The environment we worked in was often a recent warzone, scattered with unexploded shells and mines and the detritus of war.”
“The opposing forces always considered the UN peacekeepers suspicious, and we had to work hard to earn their trust. When travelling through the front lines into the buffer zone, you had to keep your wits about you”.
“We were never alone and were always in touch with headquarters over UHF radios in the clearly marked UN vehicles,” said Grigson, currently a book coach based in Melbourne, who teaches, mentors and supports writers. while running a publishing house for authors who wish to self-publish their stories.
From personal experience, he said, “I can state that I have been shot at several times, had to wear a helmet and body armour while I was working, and have experienced shelling by the two opposing forces who wished to make a point during the ongoing negotiations.”
One of my colleagues was killed while driving the daily mail truck when the road was mined overnight, said Grigson.
Thalif Deen is a former Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services; Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International; and military editor Middle East/Africa at Jane’s Information.
