Killing humanitarians is part of a broader attack on international humanitarian law by Tom Fletcher United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator   New York, 8 April 2026   Statement to the United Nations Security Council by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, pursuant to resolution 2730 (2024) on the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and the protection of United Nations and associated personnel:   "In 2025, at least 326 humanitarians were recorded as killed across 21 countries, bringing the total number of humanitarians killed in three years to over 1,010.   We recognise, grieve and honour each of our 326 colleagues, and commit the work ahead to their memory.   Of those over 1,000 deaths, more than 560 were in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan, 25 in Ukraine and 25 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.   That number – over 1,000 – compares to 377 recorded as killed globally over the previous three years – so that’s almost tripling the death count.   This is not an accidental escalation – it is the collapse of protection.   These humanitarians were killed while distributing food, water, medicine, shelter. They died in clearly marked convoys and on missions coordinated directly with authorities.   And, too often, they were killed by Member States of the United Nations.   Humanitarians know we face risks. It is the nature of our work, the places in which we operate.   These deaths are not because we are reckless with our lives. They are because parties to the conflict are reckless with our lives.   So, on behalf of over a thousand dead humanitarians and their families, we ask: why?   Is it because the world no longer believes in Security Council resolution 2730, in which you spoke with such moral urgency about ending violence against humanitarians?   Is it because international humanitarian law, forged by a generation of wiser political leaders for just such a time as this, is no longer convenient?   Is it because it is more important to protect those designing, selling, supplying and firing lethal weapons – including drones, cyber tools, artificial intelligence – than protecting us?   Is it because those killing us feel no cost for their actions? How many were prosecuted? How many of their leaders resigned? On how many investigations did the UN Security Council insist? Were you ever selective in your outrage?   Or is it because Member States see these numbers as collateral damage, part of the fog of war? Or worse, are we now seen as legitimate targets?   And perhaps the most chilling question: if these deaths were ‘preventable,’ why then were they not prevented?   Over 110 Member States have chosen to act together through the political declaration on the protection of humanitarians.   Yet across multiple crises, humanitarians are not just being killed. Our action is being restricted, penalized, delegitimized. We are told where not to go, whom not to help.   We are harassed or arrested for doing our job. And we are lied about – and those lies have these consequences.   And, of course, when humanitarians are harmed, aid often stops. Clinics close, food doesn’t arrive.   In Yemen, 73 UN and dozens of NGO personnel remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthis. In Afghanistan and Yemen, women humanitarians are prevented from doing their jobs. In Gaza, Israel restricts UN agencies and international NGOs. In Myanmar, insecurity and access constraints cut off aid to over 100,000 people in a single month.   And in Ukraine, drone attacks have forced aid groups to pull back from frontline communities.   In all these cases, the results of the deaths of humanitarians is too often the death of hope for millions who rely on them.   These trends, alongside the collapse in funding for our lifesaving work, are a symptom of a lawless, bellicose, selfish and violent world. Killing humanitarians is part of the broader attack on the UN Charter and on international humanitarian law.   International humanitarian law was never, and is not now, an academic exercise. In honour of our colleagues killed, and in solidarity with those now risking their lives, we ask you to act with much greater conviction, consistency and courage.   I normally conclude with three asks of this Council. But it seems insulting to over one thousand colleagues killed to echo back to you the commitments of SCR 2730: protection, integrity, accountability.   We come here not to remind you of these commitments, but to challenge you to uphold them. Because if we cast aside these hard-won principles, then the integrity of this Council, and the laws we are here to protect, die with our colleagues".   http://www.unocha.org/news/over-1000-aid-workers-killed-often-hands-member-states-un-relief-chief-demands-action http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167267
	Reaffirm our shared commitment to universal human rights by UN Human Rights Special Procedures mandate holders   Mar. 2026   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk at 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council (Extract):   "Inequality is the quiet force deciding the fate of millions. It dictates who eats, who learns, who gets housing and healthcare – and who does not.   Around the world, one in four people face food insecurity, and one in three lack adequate housing.   Over half the world’s population work in the informal economy, without access to paid sick leave, maternity leave, or other forms of social protection. This is particularly true for women. Nearly 60 percent of employed women work in the informal economy.   The 2030 Agenda is alarmingly off track, with many goals now slipping into reverse. Severe cuts in international development aid are projected to lead to more than 22 million avoidable deaths by 2030.   Faced with these realities, people — especially young people — have taken to the streets to demand their rights to work, to health, to education, and to be free from corruption. They are calling for economic systems that are fair, transparent, and accountable.   Their frustration reflects deep structural failures in the global economy, which continue to deepen inequalities within and between countries.   In 2024, developing countries paid a record 415 billion US dollars in interest, more than double what they paid a decade earlier.   Interest payments trap states in a spiral of under-development and shrink the resources available for health, education, social security, and other economic and social rights.   Many developing countries face the worst climate impacts despite contributing least to the crisis. Yet, those labelled as middle-income economies – including most small island developing states - are denied the concessional financing needed for climate adaptation and recovery.   Low-income countries often receive inadequate levels of debt relief, grants and concession-based finance that they desperately need.   Meanwhile, many of the richest countries under-invest in economic, social and cultural rights. Their tax systems reward the wealthy while failing to protect those who struggle.   Over the past 20 years, the richest one percent have captured 41 percent of all new wealth, while the bottom 50 percent receive just 1 percent. Last year alone, billionaires amassed enough wealth to eliminate extreme poverty twenty-six times over.   The consequences of deep inequalities within countries are devastating. Poverty, unemployment, and the lack of social protection, make people vulnerable to brutal exploitation. A recent report from our office highlighted for instance grave abuses against people trafficked into scam centres across several regions.   Commitments on financing for development need to be backed by action to enable countries to access the resources needed for sustainable development. Reform of the international financial architecture, including debt restructuring is desperately needed. Stronger representation of developing countries in international decision-making is also crucial.   Debt servicing must not compromise international human rights obligations. States and international financial institutions should integrate human rights impact assessments systematically into their decisions on debt, in order to safeguard the fiscal space needed to realize the rights to health, education, a healthy environment, and social protection, among others.   It is high time to move beyond gross domestic product as the main metric for progress. The measure of development should be whether the economy is improving people’s wellbeing and whether economic benefits are shared equitably across society.   Economic indicators should capture positive contributions to society – including the unpaid care work largely done by women, and the value added by the informal economy. And they should exclude economic activities that are harmful to human rights, such as burning fossil fuels.   Broader access to social security is a matter of justice. All States need to realise universal and legally protected social protection floors.   It is critical to expand resources for States on the frontlines of environmental damage. In an advisory opinion last year, the International Court of Justice stressed that international cooperation around climate change is a legal obligation. This includes providing enough financial support for climate action.   We cannot accept a future where a few thrive while billions are left behind. Together, we need to build economies that deliver for everyone, and make equality and justice the measure of our progress".   http://www.neep-poverty.org/news/interview-global-economy-must-stop-pandering-to-frivolous-desires-of-ultra-rich-says-un-expert http://www.neep-poverty.org/joint-policy-briefs/ http://www.srpoverty.org/2026/01/27/time-opinion-economic-growth-at-any-cost-fails-us-all/ http://www.neep-poverty.org/   Putting people before balance sheets: UN expert calls for rights‑centered global financial reform. (OHCHR)   The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Attiya Waris, has urged Member States to fundamentally reorient international assistance and cooperation toward fiscal legitimacy, stressing that global financial governance must serve people and their rights and not merely economic indicators.   International assistance is a legal obligation, not an act of charity, and it must be grounded in legality, transparency, accountability, efficiency, effectiveness, fairness and justice,” Waris said, presenting her latest report to the UN Human Rights Council.   “Failures in global tax governance, escalating sovereign debt burdens, and unchecked illicit financial flows are eroding States’ ability to uphold minimum essential levels of economic, social, and cultural rights,” she warned.   Emphasising the need for urgent reform, the expert called for a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to ensure equitable global tax rules, rights‑based sovereign debt mechanisms that guarantee timely, inclusive, and human‑rights‑consistent restructuring and robust international action to curb illicit financial flows draining resources from countries least able to absorb the loss.   She also urged International Financial Institutions to realign voting power, expand grant‑based financing, and embed human rights impact assessments into their programmes.   “The current global financial architecture, shaped by historical inequities, too often extracts resources rather than enabling rights,” Waris said. “Transformational change is essential to place dignity, equity, and human rights at the centre of global economic governance.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/putting-people-balance-sheets-un-expert-calls-rights-centered-global   Dec. 2025   UN human rights experts call for safeguarding the UN Special Procedures system as ‘indispensable pillar’ for human rights protection.   Amid rising authoritarianism, deepening polarisation, growing intolerance, and mounting pressures on the multilateral system, Human Rights Day offers a vital moment to reaffirm our shared commitment to universal human rights, UN experts said today.   They issued a joint statement renewing their unwavering dedication to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and emphasising the urgent need for a strong, independent, and properly resourced human rights system — one capable of safeguarding dignity, justice, and equality for all.   “Standing firmly by the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, even as the multilateral order and the global human rights ecosystem face an unprecedented and existential threat, we recommit to upholding our independence as a human rights mechanism and responding to the calls and expectations of victims, survivors and all those in need.   We will continue to call for the full implementation of human rights standards and provide dedicated technical advice, grounding our work in the principles of international human rights law.   We endeavour to keep promoting positive change in people’s lives by discharging our prevention and protection mandates.   We will remain steadfast in our advocacy for stronger protection of human rights, the rule of law and democratic processes around the world. We will continue to proclaim inconvenient truths.   Over the decades, UN leaders have repeatedly affirmed the system’s significance and power. In 2006, Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed Special Procedures as the “crown jewel” of the international human rights system. His successor, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, described Special Procedures experts as the Council’s indispensable “eyes and ears,” essential for exposing violations and insisted that they must be allowed to work unhindered.   Former High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour famously characterised Special Procedures as the UN’s frontline human rights defenders — the system’s early warning and protection mechanism in action.   This mechanism has grown into a dynamic system, with committed independent experts working on a vast range of thematic and country situations.   Special Procedures mandate holders have carried out their duties with courage, impartiality and unwavering dedication — often at great personal cost — at a time when many human rights voices are being intimidated into silence. Their impact has reverberated despite severely limited capacity and resources.   As the United Nations and the Human Rights Council undergo critical moments of reform and reflection, we emphasise that these processes must create more, not fewer spaces for dialogue. Human rights protection is indispensable for peace, security and sustainable development.   We call on Member States to resist all attempts to dilute or sideline the Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures system. States and all relevant actors must act now to protect and reinforce Special Procedures as an indispensable pillar through which human rights concerns are heard.   As independent voices, we are able to defend all human rights, everywhere, even in the face of personal attacks, threats and sanctions.   On Human Rights Day, we pledge to victims across the world that we will remain your voices and your advocates – even when it seems that the world has turned away.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/12/un-experts-call-safeguarding-special-procedures-system http://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/statements/20251209-stm-sps-en.pdf http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/02/high-commissioner-turk-we-cannot-afford-human-rights-system-crisis http://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2026/03/world-upside-down-our-choices-our-voices-our-votes-determine-what-comes-next http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/02/13/un-financial-crisis-threatens-to-halt-human-rights-work http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/efficiency-must-not-mean-doing-less-civil-societys-call-to-safeguard-the-human-rights-council/ http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/40-states-warn-protect-un-human-rights-pillar-from-devastating-funding-cuts/ http://www.civicus.org/index.php/media-resources/news/8055-un-budget-cuts-hurts-human-rights-around-the-world http://childrightsconnect.org/joint-letter-on-the-impact-of-the-un-liquidity-crisis-and-the-un80-initiative-on-childrens-rights-3/ http://childrightsconnect.org/100th-crc-session/ http://www.fian.org/en/on-the-international-human-rights-day-we-demand-a-transformation-of-the-un-that-strengthens-accountability-and-serves-peoples-not-budgets/ Visit the related web page
	View more stories