The proliferation of hunger, disease, and displacement around the world as a result of highly violent armed conflicts has led to a dramatic need for humanitarian aid crucial to meet the fundamental needs of people affected by these crises. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates that in 2020, approximately 168 million people will need humanitarian assistance–the highest figure in decades–costing close to USD 29 billion. However, the unprecedented and rapidly rising levels of need are complemented by an increasingly dangerous operational environment for humanitarian workers which effectively denies millions of people access to vital care and aid.
Given the nature of humanitarian action, some risks are inherent to the job, and the humanitarian community understands that. However, at a time when compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) by parties to conflict is steadily deteriorating, and systematic violence against aid workers is being used as a tactic to prolong suffering, there is a pressing need for States to go beyond promises to do better and work towards tangible solutions that can help safeguard humanitarian personnel and facilities in conflict.
The fragmented status of humanitarian security under contemporary IHL poses significant protection challenges. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 relating to the protection of civilians and victims of armed conflict provide legal guarantees that only afford special protection to certain categories of aid workers. For instance, under Article 24 of the Geneva Convention I, religious and medical/hospital personnel cannot be considered military targets and cannot be attacked. Medical services of armed forces, civilian hospitals in wartime, affiliates of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements, which includes the IFRC and ICRC, are granted special protections under IHL through the use of the distinctive Red Cross/Red Crescent emblem, as Common Article 3 requires that “the wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.”
Apart from IHL treaties, other international legal sources such as the 2005 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel, protects staff focusing on “(a) the deliverance of humanitarian, political or development assistance in peacebuilding, or (b) deliverance of emergency humanitarian assistance.” However, ‘associated personnel’ includes members of NGOs only if assigned to act in an official capacity by UN personnel. Thus, humanitarian personnel across the board are protected unequally, and since the rules intended to guarantee their security are widely scattered, there is a lack of understanding about the scope and applicability of such protections.
These gaps, coupled with the growing culture of impunity for perpetrators of violence against aid workers, severely impair security measures on the ground. This is evident in the growing number of attacks and fatalities among aid workers. According to the UN Global Humanitarian Overview for 2020, there were 825 attacks against health workers and health-care facilities in the first nine months of 2019, resulting in 171 deaths. In 2018, 131 aid workers were killed and 130 were kidnapped in 400 attacks. However, procuring robust data about the nature and number of attacks is challenging, and without it, it becomes difficult to identify and analyze trends and create targeted policies to address this issue. Aid workers face a wide variety of risks based on their status as national or international staff, gender, and organizational affiliation. Acknowledging the significance and implications of these disparities is crucial to effectively strengthen operational security for humanitarian personnel. Additional efforts must be made by (donor) States to strengthen the capacities of local and international organizations to better assess and communicate risk, and to systematically report, record, and compile security incidents affecting their staff and operations.
The persistence of such violence has a tremendously detrimental impact on humanitarian operations. Highly insecure environments can sometimes force organizations to either cease operations or operate from a distance using local beneficiaries. This threatens organizational independence, as aid becomes more vulnerable to being misused and politicized, which can sow distrust between communities and organizations and negatively affect the latter’s access to those who need assistance the most. For example, insecurity in Syria has led to many humanitarian organizations depending on the Assad regime to provide safe channels for aid delivery. This has lead to Damascus dictating where aid can be provided, which violates core humanitarian principles of delivering assistance impartially to where needs are the highest.
There is little doubt that over-reliance on IHL will do nothing to protect aid workers from such attacks. While sustained dialogue on this issue at the international level is welcome and absolutely needed to put pressure on those in power to take action, relying solely on public declarations and UNSC resolutions stating “aid workers/humanitarian facilities cannot be targeted and must be protected at all times” is not enough. States need to take this issue seriously, especially now, when 1 in every 45 persons on the planet needs assistance, and conditions in Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and the Sahel, among others, are only deteriorating.
Along with pushing for enforcing international humanitarian law and finding ways to introduce accountability mechanisms for those that flout it, States must also come together to help reduce risks on the ground. This can be achieved by introducing national legislations to serve as internal safeguards to help protect civilians and personnel; empowering NGOs with adequate funds for security and risk management purposes, and continued exploration and investments into mechanisms like humanitarian notification for ‘deconfliction’ to ensure that intentional targeting of humanitarian personnel does not take place. Aid workers are not collateral damage in conflict situations. Failure to take action results in devastating suffering and destruction and damages the credibility of international leaders and organizations. Actions speak much louder than words, and the time to act is now.
Reference List
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Image Source: Action Against Hunger (ACF)