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EU demands greater protection for aid workers amid 'alarming' attack rate
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

EU demands greater protection for aid workers amid 'alarming' attack rate

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • The EU is calling for increased protection for humanitarian aid workers amid a "alarming" rise in attacks.
  • In 2026, 82 aid workers were killed, 39 kidnapped, and 97 injured globally.
  • The EU emphasized that funding alone is insufficient and stressed the need for reinforced European humanitarian diplomacy.

The European Union is demanding greater protection for humanitarian aid workers, citing an "alarming" rate of attacks against them. On the eve of World Humanitarian Day, the EU also called for "rapid, safe, and unimpeded" humanitarian access to crisis zones worldwide.

Attacks against humanitarian personnel, hospitals, and civilian property are not accidents: they are violations of international humanitarian law.

— Kaja Kallas and Hadja LahbibThe EU officials condemned attacks on aid workers and civilian infrastructure.

High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and Commissioner for Equality, Crisis Management, and Preparedness Hadja Lahbib reported that 82 humanitarian workers have been killed so far in 2026. Additionally, 39 have been kidnapped and 97 injured. "Attacks against humanitarian personnel, hospitals, and civilian property are not accidents: they are violations of international humanitarian law," the officials stated, warning that "impunity only fuels further atrocities."

Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine were highlighted as current major humanitarian crisis points. The EU also drew attention to crises receiving less global focus in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. The officials noted that emerging technologies are fundamentally altering warfare, introducing new risks for civilian populations.

impunity only fuels further atrocities.

— Kaja Kallas and Hadja LahbibThe officials warned about the consequences of failing to hold perpetrators accountable.

Kallas and Lahbib affirmed the EU's commitment to remaining "one of the world's largest humanitarian donors." However, they stressed that "funding alone is not enough" and advocated for strengthening European humanitarian diplomacy. The EU also highlighted its Protect Aid Workers rapid response program, which assisted 782 humanitarian workers in 25 countries in 2025. The statement noted that local staff, who constitute 90% of those attacked, often lack the protections afforded to international personnel.

the EU will continue to be one of the world's largest humanitarian donors.

— Kaja Kallas and Hadja LahbibThe officials reaffirmed the EU's commitment to global humanitarian aid.

World Humanitarian Day, designated by the UN General Assembly in 2008, commemorates the 2003 bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, which killed 22 humanitarian aid workers.

funding alone is not enough.

— Kaja Kallas and Hadja LahbibThe officials emphasized the need for diplomatic efforts beyond financial aid.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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