This past June, a humanitarian convoy comprising 15 trucks traversed over a thousand miles through Sudan, carrying essential life-saving provisions for highly vulnerable children and families facing immediate starvation.
Journeys of this nature inherently involve peril and unpredictability, necessitating careful negotiations to gain access to civilians caught within a violent conflict.
While nearing its destination in El Fasher, the convoy was ambushed, resulting in the deaths of five individuals before reaching its intended point.
These individuals were not military personnel.
They held no involvement in the hostilities.
Instead, they represented a vital humanitarian link.
Serving UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP), the organization I lead, they were humanitarians—and they were tragically punished for the crime of saving lives. It constituted an appalling and indefensible act.
Aid workers are not legitimate targets, full stop. Nevertheless, our five courageous colleagues sacrificed their lives for their dedication to humanity.
World Humanitarian Day falls on August 19 annually, commemorating the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad that claimed the lives of 22 aid workers. It serves as a day to recognize and celebrate aid workers and the immense sacrifices they undertake for those they assist.
A humanitarian is defined as an individual who delivers food, medicine, or shelter, adhering strictly to the fundamental humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. Such a person remains unaligned in conflicts, shields the vulnerable, and prioritizes the welfare of others to assist those in dire need.
The five colleagues we lost in Sudan exemplified true humanitarianism. Currently, operating as a humanitarian has never been more challenging. Reaching individuals requiring humanitarian assistance is increasingly arduous—at times impossible. Forecasting future needs and anticipating new crises has also become more complex. Moreover, as demonstrated by the tragic occurrences in Sudan, it is now more perilous than ever for aid workers to carry out their crucial life-saving duties.
The WFP, alongside all other humanitarian organizations, finds itself navigating an increasingly complex and demanding geopolitical environment.
Worldwide requirements are alarmingly elevated, primarily propelled by the repercussions of conflict and instability; concurrently, the necessary resources to address these needs are diminishing as certain governments reduce their contributions to international humanitarian efforts.
Consequently, the WFP is contending with a significant budget deficit, compelling severe reductions in vital food aid. Millions of individuals have either already lost or are on the verge of losing the crucial support we offer.
Concurrently, ground conditions are becoming progressively more perilous and intricate, as adherence to international humanitarian law and the security of aid workers consistently deteriorates.
This statistic is undeniable: the previous year marked the deadliest on record for humanitarians, with 383 fatalities. This current year appears poised to be equally lethal. A significant number of those lost belonged to our UN family. Every one of them made the supreme sacrifice.
Presently, our teams in Gaza are performing extraordinary work amidst insurmountable circumstances. They live in fear for their own safety while they and their families grapple with the same hunger afflicting the wider civilian populace. In Yemen, WFP personnel have faced arbitrary detention; sadly, one perished while in custody earlier this year. In Ukraine, humanitarian locations and vehicles have suffered 41 strikes in the last year alone. In Haiti, unprecedented levels of gang violence impede our capacity to access individuals in critical need.
Despite others who are able to depart to avoid danger, committed humanitarians remain resolute in their mission to stay and provide aid—even if it entails imperiling their own lives to rescue others.
Observing the profound courage and dedication of our teams, who toil ceaselessly to reach the planet’s most vulnerable, is truly humbling. I consider myself fortunate to collaborate with them and grieve for all whom we have lost. However, facing life-or-death situations should never be an inherent aspect of any humanitarian’s role.
The WFP will continue to serve the world’s most vulnerable populations. Yet, we cannot achieve this autonomously. We require conflicting parties to honor their duties under international humanitarian law and to face consequences should they fail. We urge governments to increase their efforts, not only financially, but also through political resolve and diplomatic resolutions to cease the conflicts that exacerbate so much of the global hunger and malnutrition witnessed today.
Hostilities against humanitarian personnel must cease. Assaults on civilians and their essential supporting infrastructure must also conclude. Such acts are inexcusable.
Whenever global leaders neglect to uphold and enforce humanitarian law, fail to broker ceasefires, or neglect to demand secure corridors for vital aid, they compel my teams to incur ever-greater risks to close the expanding deficiencies within the multilateral framework. This must stop. We cannot—and ought not—persist in this manner.
The demise of every aid worker is an affront. Equally egregious is the death of every child taken by starvation. Both tragedies are avoidable. Neither should occur.
On World Humanitarian Day, let us pledge to reverse this deadly degradation of humanitarian principles, and instead undertake the necessary actions to guarantee that aid workers can function safely and securely—thereby safeguarding the lives of the vulnerable populations we assist.
