UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution strongly condemning attacks on humanitarian aid workers and UN personnel and demanding that all combatants protect them in accordance with international law.
The vote was 14-0, with Russia abstaining.
The Swiss-backed resolution expresses serious concerns about the growing number of attacks and threats against UN and humanitarian personnel, along with the continued disregard and violations of international humanitarian law by fighters.
Swiss UN Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl welcomed the strong support for the resolution, which had 97 co-sponsors, and told the council that its purpose was simple but important: to protect the men and women who work as humanitarians and for the United Nations who risk their lives every day. “to help people affected by armed conflict.”
“Today there are more than 120 armed conflicts around the world,” she told reporters after the vote. “Millions of people are suffering and need humanitarian assistance. Yet violence against humanitarian and UN personnel is increasing. More than 250 humanitarian staff were killed in 2023 alone.”
Baeriswyl said there has been a more than 50% increase in the number of humanitarian workers being targeted over the past decade.
The resolution does not mention any conflict, but it is being voted on as fighting rages in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar and many other hotspots around the world.
However, it is the seven-month war in Gaza that has seen the greatest number of attacks on UN and humanitarian personnel. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called the death toll of UN staff in Gaza unprecedented in the world body’s nearly 80-year history.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced on Friday that the number of killings of UN staff had risen to 194, with the vast majority coming from the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. Saying it had been a “tragic year”, he welcomed the resolution and said member states must do everything they can to implement it.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said Arab countries are grateful to Switzerland and told reporters that the resolution was “tailor-made for Gaza, without necessarily mentioning Gaza by name.” That’s because it calls for protection of humanitarians and U.N. personnel trying to help civilians, he said.
The war has also led to the deaths of other humanitarian workers, including seven World Central Kitchen employees who were killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.
Baeriswyl said the resolution came at the right time. The Geneva Conventions, which Baeriswyl described as the cornerstone of international humanitarian law and a reflection of our common humanity, commemorate their 75th anniversary in August.
Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Anna Evstigneeva paid tribute “to the courage and selflessness” of humanitarian workers but blamed Western pressure for Moscow’s abstention.
She said a number of unnamed Western countries had pressured Switzerland to omit language and changes that Russia wanted in the resolution, including on holding accountable those who violate international law, on humanitarian access and on ‘the hackneyed gender language’.
The resolution calls on all countries to respect and protect humanitarian and UN personnel, as required by international law. And it calls on all countries and parties to armed conflicts to respect international humanitarian law and their obligations under the Geneva Conventions.
The International Committee of the Red Cross welcomed the adoption of the resolution, saying it is “a clear reminder of the absolute necessity and obligation for all parties to armed conflict to respect and protect humanitarian personnel, their premises and their assets.”
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said that Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and ICRC staff are often the first to respond to conflicts in an effort to keep people in desperate need alive, “and too often the pay the highest price.”
The resolution “strongly condemns attacks and all forms of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats and intimidation against humanitarian, United Nations and associated personnel.”
The resolution urges combatants “to respect the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in the conduct of hostilities and to refrain from attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.”
It also urges the warring parties to “facilitate full, safe, expeditious and unhindered humanitarian access to all civilians in need, and to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of humanitarian and United Nations personnel and associated personnel promote.”
On another issue, the resolution condemns “disinformation, information manipulation and incitement to violence” against humanitarians and UN personnel, and encourages all countries and the United Nations to take action to address these threats.
The resolution expresses the council’s determination to take steps to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian and UN personnel. It would ask the UN Secretary-General to make recommendations within six months on measures to prevent attacks, ensure accountability and improve protection of humanitarians and UN personnel.