This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the most dangerous year on record for aid workers, driven by conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and South Sudan. The report highlights the increasing role of state actors in attacks on humanitarian workers, a disturbing trend that challenges the effectiveness of international humanitarian law. With more than 280 aid workers killed in 2023, the report underscores the complexity of humanitarian advocacy in conflict zones. It examines the risks and rewards of advocacy efforts, detailing how public and private advocacy can influence, but also endanger, humanitarian operations. The report calls for improved coordination, risk analysis, and a stronger focus on holding perpetrators accountable for violence against aid workers. It also suggests that the international community must find new ways to protect aid workers, as traditional advocacy approaches appear increasingly insufficient in today's conflict landscapes.
Authors
Meriah-Jo Breckenridge, Adelicia Fairbanks, Monica Czwarno, Paul Harvey, Mariana Duque-Díez, Abby Stoddard
- Pages
- 19
- Published in
- United Kingdom
Table of Contents
- 2023 was the deadliest year for aid workers ever recorded with fatalities more than double the annual average. 2
- The death toll was driven mainly by the war in Gaza which since its onset in October 2023 has claimed the lives of more than 280 aid workers to date mostly in collateral violence. 2
- Sudan and South Sudan also saw record numbers of aid workers killed in 2023 adding to the spike in fatalities. 2
- Introduction 3
- Aid worker attacks Latest statistics 4
- 1.1 Global totals 4
- 1.2 Most violent contexts 5
- Humanitarian advocacy and its relationship to secure access for aid 8
- 2.1 Objectives and approaches 8
- Direct private advocacy 9
- Public indirect advocacy 9
- 2.2 The security paradox 10
- Risks versus rewards A look at the evidence 10
- 3.1 Reprisals obstruction and loss of access 11
- 3.2 Risk aversion and the risk of doing nothing 12
- 3.3 Too little too late and not working 13
- 3.4 Advocacy for justice and accountability 13
- 3.5 Organisational challenges 14
- Risk mitigation and potential new avenues for advocacy 15
