Geneva: President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Kate Forbes, and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, called for stronger measures to protect humanitarian workers and volunteers and preserve the space needed for them to carry out their work safely.
According to Jordan News Agency, in a statement marking World Humanitarian Day, the leaders emphasized that merely honoring the courage of humanitarian workers is insufficient, especially as aid workers face increasing threats, with record numbers being killed. The statement highlighted that the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has already lost 12 workers this year due to violence, compared to 24 workers last year.
Forbes and Spoljaric stressed the need to prevent attacks on aid workers from becoming normalized. They argued that the solution lies not in demanding greater courage from humanitarian personnel but in ensuring their safety while performing their duties. They warned that polarisation, declining trust, and misinformation, alongside rhetoric targeting humanitarian workers or questioning the neutrality of aid, are heightening the risks faced by humanitarian personnel, potentially transforming online campaigns into real-world threats and attacks.
The officials underscored that protecting humanitarian workers requires governments and parties to armed conflicts to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. They noted that 122 countries have signed the Declaration on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, reiterating that safeguarding humanitarian workers is a duty, not a privilege granted to humanitarian organisations.