Geneva, Switzerland

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

A record number of 383 humanitarian workers were killed in 2024, the UN announced on Tuesday, describing these figures and the impunity that accompanies them as a “shameful expression” of international apathy.

This figure represents a 31% increase over 2023 – which was already a sad record – the United Nations explained on World Humanitarian Day. It is “fueled by ongoing conflicts in Gaza, where 181 humanitarian workers were killed, and in Sudan, where 60 lost their lives.”

According to the UN, most of these killings in 2024 were perpetrated by state actors, and most of those killed were local employees, attacked either while on duty or at home.

Some 308 humanitarian workers were also injured, 125 kidnapped, and 45 detained last year.

“Even a single attack on a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on those we serve,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher. “Attacks of this magnitude, with zero accountability, are a shameful expression of international inaction and apathy.”

“As a humanitarian community, we call on those with power and influence to act on behalf of humanity, protect civilians and humanitarian workers, and bring to justice those responsible” for violence against them, he added.

Provisional figures from the Aid Worker Security database show that, as of August 14, 265 humanitarian workers have already been killed since the beginning of 2025.

The UN reiterates that attacks on humanitarian workers or operations constitute violations of international humanitarian law and undermine the lifelines on which millions of people trapped in war zones or disaster areas depend.

“Violence against humanitarian workers is not inevitable. It must stop,” said Mr. Fletcher, who is also the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had recorded more than 800 attacks on healthcare services in 16 territories, killing more than 1,100 medical professionals and patients.

“Each attack inflicts lasting harm, deprives entire communities of vital care when they need it most, endangers those who provide that care, and weakens already strained health systems,” the WHO said.

Every August 19, World Humanitarian Day marks the anniversary of the 2003 jihadist attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 UN employees, including its special representative in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and injured some 150 others.

Humaniterre with AFP