Are we “Acting for Humanity” on this World Humanitarian Day?
Today, August 19, is World Humanitarian Day. This day honors humanitarian workers and raises awareness of humanitarian efforts around the world. These days, unfortunately, there are plenty of “humanitarian efforts.” Because we’ve got plenty of humanitarian messes.
Right now, there are around 120 armed conflicts in the world–happening at the same time. We’ve got more global crises than we can manage. And they’re only getting worse. What does that say about the state of the world, I wonder?! Subject for another blog.
For now, “Humanitarian Day.”
Here’s the backstory: On August 19 in 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. A few years later, the United Nations designated August 19 as World Humanitarian Day.
There have been many attacks on aid workers since then (and many before then, as well). In fact, 2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers. And 2024 doesn’t seem to be much better. In fact, it’s worse.
When people attack those who are there to serve–aid workers, teachers, doctors, even the media–it exposes the low regard we have for all human life. Harming these people also means doing harm to those they serve and support. We’re doing everyone a grave injustice. And the world is spinning in the wrong direction.
We are failing humanitarian aid workers. I know, I used to be one. I spent about two decades in about twenty different countries–Afghanistan, Haiti, Central African Republic, and more–working to prevent and respond to sexual violence in humanitarian settings. Working for women’s safety also put me at risk.
For previous Humanitarian Days, colleagues and I sounded the alarm about the culture of sexual exploitation and discrimination against women. We collected over 400 stories from women describing the challenges they faced in navigating the “boys club” of humanitarian work.
Their experiences included being denied opportunities like equal pay, benefits, and protections — simply because they are women. Some women were even told they were “too young and too pretty” to be managing complex emergencies — and perhaps should serve as the admin instead. And sexual harassment was rampant, perpetrated with near-total impunity.
Despite this, aid workers–women and men–are risking their LIVES for their work. It should not be this way.
Let’s get granular. In 2023, the number of aid workers killed more than doubled in two years: from 118 in 2022 to 280 in 2023. And UN statistics also tell us that in 2023, 78 aid workers were kidnapped and 196 wounded worldwide. The International NGO Safety Organisation reminds us of this stark reality: the overwhelming majority of humanitarian staff killed or injured are national humanitarian workers. 96% of those killed last year were national staff.
Now let’s talk about the elephant in the (humanitarian) room: deaths of Palestinian aid workers.
For the past 10 months, time and again, activists worldwide have condemned the killing of Palestinian–and international–aid workers, journalists, doctors, and others.
From October 2023 to August 2024, over 289 humanitarians, the vast majority Palestinian, were killed in Gaza by Israeli forces. 179 of them have been killed since January, putting us on track for the deadliest year for aid workers on record. This number, and the rate of state-sanctioned violence against protected civilians, is simply unheard of in modern history.
Since the beginning of the genocide, aid workers have been working tirelessly to provide basic needs–food, shelter, medical care–whatever it takes for people to survive. And people are barely surviving.
The world heard about the seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen that were killed by Israeli forces in April. While this is undoubtedly tragic, what concerns me is the international community’s reaction to Palestinian aid workers being killed over the past ten months.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, posted that there have been “way too many” killed– “at least 289 aid workers including 207 UNRWA team members and 885 health workers lost.”
Yes, many have condemned the attacks against Palestinian aid workers, from major news outlets such as Reuters to well-known and respected human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch. Yet, we continue to allow it to happen in Palestine with near total impunity and without serious repercussions. Why?
Where is the outrage? There’s barely a trickle. By not holding Israel accountable for the killing of Palestinian aid workers, the message we’re sending is that we do not value their lives. Even worse, Western governments bend over backward to send Israel billions (and billions and billions) of military funding. To continue killing.
It is unbearably clear that the near-total obliteration of Gaza’s infrastructure is not meant to “fight Hamas” or “recover the hostages” as we’ve repetitively been told. Just as the repetitive forced displacement of people from one “safe zone” to another is not meant to provide actual safety but to physically and emotionally weaken the civilian population. The deliberate attacks on Palestinian aid workers is simply a way to undermine Palestinian social safety nets and support structures. Israel wants to make sure that, even if there is a ceasefire, it will be impossible to recreate a functioning Gazan society in our lifetime.
We’re allowing this to happen. Live streamed. Meaning: as far as the international community is concerned, Palestinian lives count less.
To bring this point home, in June of this year, the New York Times labeled Gaza the world’s deadliest place for aid workers.
And here we are sprouting all sorts of platitudes about World Humanitarian Day. As an aid worker, I applaud my colleagues working in the hardest conditions in support of others. But overall, as an “international community,” we’ve arguably failed Palestine by disregarding Palestinian life and conveniently sidelining international law. Even the UN recognizes that violations of these laws continue unabated, unchallenged and unchecked. And everyone is suffering as a result.
As this genocide moves into its eleventh month, Palestinian aid workers are paying the highest price.
Every year, there’s a theme for World Humanitarian Day. This year’s theme is Act for Humanity, where we’re supposed to “confront the normalization of attacks on civilians, including humanitarians” and ultimately to take action to ensure their protection in conflict zones. We’ve got lots of work to do.
So when we call upon ourselves and others to “act for humanity,” let’s make sure we’re including everyone.
To #ActForHumanity and join the movement, check out the 2024 World Humanitarian Day website here.
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