The EU Delegation to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva is pleased to formally invite you to the side-event “Protection of humanitarian aid workers: local perspective on the challenges related to duty of care and incident response management”

In their effort to help those most in need, humanitarian workers are too often confronted with violence and security related incidents, which put their lives and health at risk. According to the Aid Workers Security Database, 272 aid workers were killed, 203 wounded and 82 kidnapped only in 2023. The year 2024 will probably mark an even deadlier outcome, as by September 2024, 223 humanitarians were killed and at least another 150 have suffered a critical incident.

National aid workers are the most affected and the least protected from targeted incidents including attacks, arbitrary arrest and detention, legal intimidation, and harassment. Female aid workers are often exposed to additional risks, including sexual harassment and assault.
The UNSC Resolution 2730 (2024) on the protection of humanitarian workers calls for enhanced efforts in coordination, cooperation, and information-sharing among humanitarian aid actors. Actions to prevent and respond to incidents affecting humanitarian personnel are indispensable. So are bridging initiatives to strengthen and coordinate separate efforts in this regard.

With its Protect Aid Workers (PAW) project, financed by the Directorate General of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), the EU wants to support humanitarian workers that have experienced a critical incident or are under threat due to their work and to build a much-needed common platform for common action. The IFRC has also developed tools, established insurance mechanisms, launched a community of practice on the safety, security and wellbeing of volunteers and are tabling a volunteering pledge to ensure volunteers have relevant safety nets to carry out their activities safely and securely.

In the form of a round table, we would like to connect with IFRC national society representatives to hear their voices and understand better the challenges related to their work with a specific focus on those faced by local staff and volunteers.
Concrete cases of assistance will be presented for illustration, and we invite all interested delegations to join us and present their initiatives, positions, and intentions to act.

Speakers:

• European Union: Patrice Lenormand, Head of Unit - South-West Asia and Arabian Peninsula, DG ECHO.
• IFRC: Frank Mohrhauer, Director of National Society Development Services
• Protect Aid Workers: David Annequin, Programme Director
• National Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Ange Mulanga, Volunteer 
• National Red Crescent Society of Myanmar: Pyae Sone, Volunteer 

Moderator: Representative from Northumbria University

This event is co-organised by the European Union (DG ECHO), IFRC and Protect Aid Workers (PAW), in collaboration with Northumbria University.

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EU GENEVA