On 23 September, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong jointly with the Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy, announced a new initiative at the United Nations General Assembly meeting which aims to improve the safety and security of humanitarian personnel.
Working together with humanitarian organisations and the UN Secretary-General, the proposed Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel aims to be global in reach and application, reaffirming existing humanitarian law, and setting out practical and actionable steps to protect aid workers in conflict.
2023 was the deadliest year on record for aid workers, with more than 280 killed and many more wounded and kidnapped. 2024 is on track to be even worse.
Humanitarians should never be a target
RedR Australia welcomes the move to push for greater protections for humanitarians working in conflicts and crises.
RedR Australia’s CEO, Dr Helen Durham AO, through her global knowledge and experience with International Humanitarian Law, was asked to comment on ABC Radio National, ABC Afternoon Briefing, SkyNews and SBS News on 24 September following the ministerial announcement.
Dr Durham explained on ABC Radio National, “It’s encouraging to see the Australian government taking leadership in raising the issue of the protection of humanitarian workers through this new initiative at the United Nations this week,”
“We are seeing an unacceptably large number of humanitarian workers killed or injured. Too many humanitarian workers are being killed, targeted and injured, either incidentally because the conflict is not following the laws of war, or they are being deliberately targeted in many places throughout the world.
“I think it’s a really important step, that the Australian government is taking a leadership role in raising the issue of the need to protect humanitarian workers.”
Sparking global discussions
RedR Australia hopes that the Declaration reinvigorates international law and brings the protection of humanitarian workers to the forefront of global discussions.
“There are already strong protections for humanitarian workers in international humanitarian law and the capacity to prosecute those who breach these laws. We need to build on these obligations by reaffirming and using existing law—it is not inevitable that humanitarians are killed during armed conflict,” said Dr. Durham.
“Time and again, we are seeing breaches in international humanitarian law which leads to immense suffering for families and communities. It’s certainly time to discuss how we can better protect aid workers and hold perpetrators to account.”
Watch Dr. Durham speaking with the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing on Tuesday 24 September.
Listen to Dr. Durham speaking with ABC's Radio National on Tuesday 24 September.
