Attacks on humanitarian workers

During the War in Afghanistan, for example, there was an increase in politically motivated attacks, potentially because local residents stopped distinguishing between organisations who worked directly with the US military and those who did not.

The legal basis for the protection of humanitarian workers in armed conflicts is contained in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the related Protocols I and II of 1977.

Médecins Sans Frontières was created in 1971 with the express purpose of ignoring this restriction, by providing assistance to populations affected by the Biafran civil war despite the prohibitions of the government of Nigeria.

The Conventions prohibit combatants from attacking protected persons, and they require occupying forces to maintain general order.

However, the Conventions do not require that combating parties provide security escorts, for example, when other factions threaten the safety of protected persons operating in their area.

In 2003, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1502 giving greater protection to humanitarian workers and treating attacks on them as a war crime.

ICRC promotes a framework for Neutral Independent Humanitarian Action (NIHA) to enable differentiated role understanding.

[3] Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is another database that includes attacks on humanitarian workers in addition to other conflict-related incidents.

Accidents and illnesses contribute only a minority of reported aid worker deaths; the majority are caused by deliberate violence, most commonly shootings and air strikes.

On average, foreign aid workers are abducted for a longer period than local staff due to higher ransom demands from kidnappers.

[9] It can also be targeted as a result of being associated as an entity collaborating with a group or government seen as an enemy, leading humanitarian organizations to strive be seen as politically independent and neutral.

[9] According to a 2009 report by Humanitarian Outcomes, this increase in politically motivated attacks may have occurred because Afghan locals stopped distinguishing between organisations who worked with the US military and those who did not, with the notable exception of the ICRC.