The death of Spanish aid worker Emma Igual in Ukraine last September, while evacuating civilians, put the spotlight on the work of humanitarian workers and aid workers, as well as the risks they face. Far from being an isolated event, every year we have to mourn many human losses of people who dedicate their lives to international cooperation for development and humanitarian action.
In 2022, according to United Nations data, 444 humanitarian workers were attacked, resulting in 116 deaths. And more than 450 aid workers were victims of attacks. Although the news always breaks when the deceased person is an expatriate who is carrying out her work in another country, the data indicates that, of the deceased humanitarian workers, 96% were national and 4% were international. That is to say, the greatest risk is really faced by those who carry out this work in their own country in a situation of war and impoverishment. More than half (47%) belonged to national NGOs.
Whether during humanitarian emergency work (natural disasters, armed conflicts, etc.) or in cooperation projects alleviating poverty situations, this profession entails a series of risks. The most obvious is that it threatens the personal safety of those who exercise it, who are exposed to physical violence, kidnappings, assaults and threats by armed groups. Of the figure previously provided by the United Nations, 185 humanitarian workers were kidnapped and used as bargaining chips and pressure by criminal gangs.
Physical and mental health hangs by a thread
But there are more dangers, such as health problems when working in contexts with numerous outbreaks of contagious diseases or limited sanitation. We have seen it with several epidemics such as covid-19 or Ebola. These situations have increased in recent years with climate change and uncertainty in the face of more unpredictable and violent weather phenomena.
Within health, the mental has become relevant lately. They are workers exposed to chaotic traumatic situations that can generate mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress. Not in vain, many organizations establish that in certain destinations, including war fighters, aid workers and humanitarian workers, they must leave the country where they carry out their work every three or four months to relieve emotional stress.
Added to this are the risks of suffering traffic accidents or falling buildings and infrastructure that are precarious. It is also not easy for workers who, in another political and sociocultural context, may suffer discrimination and violence for being a woman, as well as for their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Humanitarian personnel cannot be attacked
So far in 2023, the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD), which compiles a global compilation of reports on security incidents towards humanitarian workers, has established that there have been 137 attacks. It has mainly occurred in South Sudan, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria. These are countries in which the population is exposed to an extreme level of insecurity and violence, which sees its rights violated and depends on cooperation agencies, multilateral organizations and non-governmental organizations.
The United Nations has been concerned about the safety of these workers for years. Already in 1995, it approved the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, which requires that humanitarian personnel be protected by States during the performance of their duties. It also addresses the establishment of criminal measures for those who attack them.
An optional protocol to this Convention was approved in 2005, extending protection to personnel providing humanitarian, emergency, political or development assistance. And that same year, the UN Department of Security (UNDSS) was created, making it possible for United Nations operations to be carried out while giving great importance to the safety and protection of citizens. United Nations staff and their families.
At the state level there are also measures underway. For example, in Spain there is the Cooperator Statute (2006), which recognizes the role of expatriate personnel in contexts of war, establishing rights such as life and accident insurance, repatriation or medical care.
But, without a doubt, the most vulnerable workers are the nationals that we mentioned above, since they may be in countries with less guarantees and benefit less from safety protocols that must include risk assessment, training and equipment, safe facilities and evacuation of emergency.
This is a task as insecure as it is necessary, which we do not usually value in its proper measure, since it is carried out in distant places and in the face of external causes.
This article has been published in ‘The conversation‘.
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