Record 1,010+ Humanitarian Deaths, Security Council Demands Accountability

Meetings Coverage
- Security Council
10131st Meeting (AM) SC/16331

8 April 2026

Amid Record Deaths of Humanitarian, UN Personnel, Security Council Speakers Demand Accountability, Adherence to International Law

Amid record levels of humanitarian workers and United Nations personnel killed in armed conflict, the Security Council today explored ways to strengthen protection, with a briefer warning that their “extraordinary courage and dedication” do not shield them from bullets, drones and shelling.

Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, reported that in 2025 at least 326 humanitarian workers were killed across 21 countries, bringing the total over the past three years to more than 1,010.  By comparison, 377 humanitarian workers were killed globally in the preceding three years.

This almost threefold increase “is not an accidental escalation — it is the collapse of protection,” he said, adding that of those deaths, more than 560 occurred in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan and 25 each in Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He questioned whether the international community still stands by Security Council resolution 2730 (2024) — a text adopted amid a marked deterioration in the security environment for humanitarian personnel and UN and associated staff operating in armed conflict settings.  The resolution was led by Switzerland and co-sponsored by more than 90 Member States, reflecting broad cross-regional support.

No Pledges without Protection:  UN Officials Call Out Failure to Act

“It seems insulting to the more than 1,000 colleagues killed to simply echo the commitments of that resolution — protection, integrity, accountability,” he added. “We come here not to remind you of these commitments, but to challenge you to uphold them.”

Gilles Michaud, UN Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, recalled the killings of a member of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) when a drone hit a home in Goma in March 2026, a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) in an attempted kidnapping in Port-au-Prince in November 2025 and a member of the Department for Safety and Security by a tank in Gaza in May 2024.

“To this day, no one has been held accountable for their deaths,” he stressed, expressing regret that, since he took up his post in 2019, “the threats to humanitarian personnel have only grown in scale, intensity and frequency”.

Unfortunately, he added, attacks against humanitarian workers no longer come only from non-State armed groups, but from the same Member States “who profess an attachment to international humanitarian law while paying little attention to such law in practice”.

To make matters worse, recent budget cuts have led to reduced security support globally.  This, he said, leaves “our people ever more exposed and our programmes — in fact, your mandates — more vulnerable”.

He called for “real, consequential measures” against anyone that compromises the safety and security of women and men whose work saves lives.  Otherwise, they are, at best, “signs of helplessness”.

Every single death represents “a failure of humanity”, concurred Elyse Nicole Mosquini, Permanent Observer and Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the United Nations.

She noted that in 2025 alone at least 31 staff and volunteers of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement were killed while carrying out their vital humanitarian work, including 20-year-old Abolfazl Dahanavi, who last Saturday became the fourth colleague of the Iranian Red Crescent Society killed while carrying out humanitarian work in Iran.

‘We Are Losing Our Humanity’

“We are losing our humanity in war,” she warned, adding:  “International humanitarian law is unequivocal:  States must respect and protect humanitarian personnel.”

She reminded all that aid workers in conflict zones continue to serve those in need despite the risks.  “Their courage is extraordinary, but courage does not deflect bullets,” she pointed out.  “Dedication does not shield them from drones, shelling, and gunfire.”

The Security Council, all States, and parties to conflict must take immediate, concrete steps to protect humanitarian workers, she said, including by ensuring compliance with international humanitarian law, investigating attacks and holding perpetrators accountable, countering harmful narratives, guaranteeing rapid and unimpeded access and strengthening duty-of-care measures — particularly for local staff who face the greatest risks.

Aid Workers Caught between Conflicting Claims

In the ensuing discussion, Member States collectively called for stronger protections, enforcement of existing international law, accountability for perpetrators, and enhanced operational and security support for humanitarian personnel in conflict zones.

The Russian Federation’s representative noted that more than half of all deaths of humanitarian workers are directly linked to the conflict in Palestine and Israeli military operations.  “Now, with direct complicity of the United States, we have observed strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, which inevitably result in rising civilian casualties and a direct threat to humanitarian personnel,” he said.  “These are not incidental occurrences, but a systematic practice which flies in the face of the norms of international humanitarian law.”

His counterpart from the United States emphasized that Iran’s deliberate targeting of civilians in the Gulf region demonstrates a lack of respect for international law and is “at odds with international peace and security”.  He added that Tehran continues to support the Houthis in Yemen, who are holding over 70 UN staff and have refused meetings with the UN to discuss their fate.  The representative of Bahrain, Council President for April, spoke in his national capacity, stating that unjustified Iranian attacks against his country and others have impacted efforts to provide aid “in so many parts of the world”.

The United Kingdom’s delegate noted that it has been two years since the strike on World Central Kitchen staff in Gaza — in which three British nationals were killed.  “Israel has a responsibility to provide answers as to how and why this happened,” he demanded.

“Those who safeguard lives should not themselves be placed in danger” said China’s representative.  Calling for better protection mechanisms, he noted that his country — along with Brazil, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Africa and others — launched with ICRC a global initiative to galvanize political commitment to international humanitarian law.  He said over 100 countries have joined and called on others to do so.

Technology Cuts Both Ways in Conflict Settings

Diplomats also highlighted the dual impact of technology on humanitarian operations.  Latvia’s representative said that the increasing use of drones and other accessible technologies by both State and non-State actors introduces new security risks, as exemplified by the death of a UNICEF staff member in Goma in March.  At the same time, technology can enhance humanitarian response, he said, citing tools such as the UNDP Rapid Digital Assessment.  Technology-enabled protection instruments, including early-warning systems, can improve the safety of humanitarian personnel, he emphasized.

France’s delegate emphasized the need for Security Council resolutions to provide strong guarantees for the safety of humanitarian workers, calling for tangible mechanisms to ensure objective, permanent, comprehensive and exhaustive follow-up on violations of international humanitarian law worldwide.

The speaker for Greece recalled that the former ICRC President spoke of 20 active conflicts while briefing the Council 27 years ago; today, the ICRC records more than 130 worldwide.  She called on the Council to ensure that operational and security capacities on the ground are strengthened by “incorporating safety and security requirements into all the mandates it issues”.

Accountability a Legal, Ethical Imperative

“If those who carry out humanitarian action and UN responsibilities are no longer protected, then the entire edifice of civilian protection is weakened,” said Pakistan’s representative, pointing to the implementation of international humanitarian law as the starting point for reversing trends.  “Impunity only invites repetition,” he cautioned, calling for prompt, impartial, transparent and effective investigations.

Similarly, Panama’s delegate said that “in the crude circumstances of wartime”, compliance does not just mean a legal obligation, but “an ethical imperative”.  “A lack of compliance should activate accountability mechanisms at the international level,” he added.

The representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo warned of a “real disconnect between the commitments of States and their application”, underlining the need to “close the gap between decisions taken in this Council and the lived reality of populations”.  His counterpart from Somalia similarly noted that — despite clear legal frameworks — “implementation on the ground too often falls short”.

“Tolerance signals acceptance,” observed Denmark’s delegate, describing a lack of clear, consistent condemnation as “effectively setting the price paid by the perpetrators for such attacks at zero”.

Human Cost Cannot Be Ignored

Colombia’s representative expressed regret that, two years after the adoption of resolution 2730 (2024), there remains a persistent “pattern of systemic violence and deliberate and indiscriminate aggression against civilian populations”.

Switzerland proposed the adoption of resolution 2730 (2024), recalled the country’s delegate, adding that increased attacks against humanitarian workers send a dangerous signal that humanitarian workers have become acceptable targets.  The Council must ensure the resolution that was adopted to counter this trend is fully implemented. “Wars have rules and civilians are not a target,” she insisted.

Liberia’s Ambassador emphasized the human cost of civilian harm, describing it as the father who does not return home, the mother striving to hold together her family, the only child whose future is cut short, or families anxiously awaiting the return of a loved one serving under the UN’s protective flag.  “The choice before this Council is between reacting after lives are lost or acting early enough to prevent those losses, because protection of civilians cannot continue to be a post‑facto appeal.”

For information media. Not an official record.