UN Security Council wants to better protect aid workers in war zones
Published: Friday, May 24th 2024, 17:50
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The UN Security Council wants to better protect humanitarian aid workers and UN personnel in war zones. To this end, it adopted a resolution negotiated and submitted by Switzerland on Friday.
The number of armed conflicts has risen sharply, wrote the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on the adoption of the resolution on Friday. Millions of people are in need of humanitarian aid. However, the aid workers themselves are coming under increasing pressure and are themselves becoming victims.
According to the FDFA, more than 500 humanitarian aid workers were victims of violence in 2023. Over 250 of them lost their lives. In the last ten years, the number of victims of humanitarian aid organizations has risen by more than 50 percent. The victims were mostly national or local employees.
The resolution calls on UN member states to comply with their obligations under international law to protect humanitarian aid workers and UN personnel. Not only people, but also the premises and assets of the organizations must be protected and respected.
New types of threats such as disinformation were also included in the text, according to the FDFA. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is to submit concrete recommendations to the Council within six months on how attacks on humanitarian personnel can be better prevented and impunity combated.
According to the FDFA, the protection of the civilian population in conflicts is a priority of the Federal Council for Switzerland's membership of the UN Security Council. The resolution that has now been adopted also stands for Switzerland's long-standing humanitarian tradition.
©Keystone/SDA
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