UAE calls for protection of aid workers and UN personnel

The UAE joined at least 115 other UN member states calling for the protection of humanitarian aid workers and UN personnel working in conflict zones.

"In 2023, more than 500 humanitarian workers were killed, injured, detained or kidnapped, around the world," Switzerland’s permanent representative to the UN, Pascale Baeriswyl, speaking on behalf of the member states, said, adding local aid workers accounted for 90% of those affected.

More than 500 humanitarian workers were killed, injured, detained or kidnapped, around the world, according to Baeriswyl.

She added Gaza and the West Bank are the most dangerous places on earth to be an aid worker, with over 150 humanitarian personnel killed since the start of the year, and calling for accountability against those who compromise security. Sudan, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan reportedly have the "highest number of casualties."

In a different session, Lisa Doughten, a senior official with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, called on the UN Security Council to increase the protection of aid workers. 

"Despite the very real dangers, humanitarian and UN personnel continue to stay and deliver, and have provided life-saving support to more than 116 million people worldwide this year," she said.