Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC Briefing on Protection of Humanitarian Workers and UN Personnel in Armed Conflict
Mr. President,
We wish to thank USG Tom Fletcher and USG Gilles Michaud, as well as Head of the ICRC Delegation to the UN Elyse Nicole Mosquini. We are grateful for their briefings on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2730. Their assessments leave no doubt about the fact that the situation related to the safety and security of humanitarian workers and UN personnel continues to deteriorate.
Let me highlight once again what Gilles Michaud have mentioned today: the issue of protecting humanitarian workers firmly secured its place in the Council’s agenda in the wake of the tragedy of August 2003, when 22 people, including 15 UN personnel, were killed in a terrorist attack targeting the UN mission in Baghdad. Back then, the international community announced its determination to provide for safe and secure conditions for those helping others in the most dire circumstances. The subsequent developments, nevertheless, showed that this was not an easy task to accomplish: humanitarian workers continued and still continue to systematically fall victim to attacks and violence, both during armed conflicts and during peacetime.
However, the developments over the past three years, which were marked by spiraling levels of insecurity of humanitarian workers, cause grave concern. 2023 appeared to be a turning point, setting a grim record: that year, 297 humanitarian workers died in the line of duty. In 2024, the death toll among humanitarian workers rose to 388 people, and in 2025, that number was 329 people.
These statistics reflect countless human tragedies, and bring us to the key question about the reasons why all this is happening. I believe that everybody in this chamber is well aware of these reasons, although not everyone is willing to recognize them openly. More than half of all instances of deaths among humanitarian personnel are directly linked to the conflict in Palestine and Israeli military operations.
Unfortunately, even amid reduced intensity of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, civilians, humanitarian workers, and medical personnel continue to perish. The same holds true for the situation in the West Bank.
If one considers the situation in Palestine, it becomes starkly clear that the so-called “deconfliction” mechanisms advanced by the UN Secretariat are a failure. Championed as an instrument for protection, in practice these mechanisms and the notification systems are glaringly ineffective; not only do they fail to meet expectations pinned on them, but frequently they even backfire. Humanitarian workers are increasingly fearful of sharing their location coordinates insofar as this information could be used to target them. Similarly, the heads of humanitarian entities are unwilling to share with the Israeli side the lists of their personnel, simply out of fear for their safety and security. So what kind of “deconfliction” is there to speak of? Incidentally, we have previously pointed out its ineffectiveness in the context of Syria and other hotspots.
In Gaza there are exceedingly dangerous developments underway. Humanitarian workers are often being deliberately targeted there. Examples abound. We all recall the cold-blooded murder a year ago of a Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic team, whose bodies were found in a mass grave. There is a growing number of so-called “double tap” strikes when those rushing to help the wounded are being also attacked.
We are also particularly concerned by the plight of UNRWA staff, who are facing unprecedented threats and pressure merely for doing their jobs. Israel’s policy towards discrediting and curtailing the Agency’s operations directly undermines the safety and security not only of UNRWA personnel but also of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who depend on humanitarian aid.
We are increasingly concerned by the fact that the situation in Lebanon is evolving similarly to that in Palestine, it is also marked by ever-growing number of victims and reported attacks on critical infrastructure. From March 2 to April 5, nearly 1,500 people were killed there, including 129 children; 92 attacks targeting medical facilities were recorded. A Lebanese Red Crescent volunteer was killed. On April 5, Doctors Without Borders reported an attack targeting a densely populated area of Beirut – just 100 meters away from the hospital where its staff work.
The situation in Iran is equally alarming, with the United States now directly being involved in it. We have already witnessed strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, which inevitably resulted in growing numbers of civilian casualties and generated a direct threat to humanitarian personnel. There are reports about damage to at least 316 medical facilities and demolition of humanitarian storage sites. More than 100 ambulances have been attacked. Twenty-four rescue workers have been killed. Among the victims of this war is Iranian Red Crescent volunteer Abolfazl Dahanavi, who was only 20 years old; he was killed four days ago while helping those in need. He is the fifth Iranian Red Crescent staff member to die since the start of the conflict.
All these facts and figures attests to the fact that these are not isolated incidents but a systematic practice that flies in the face of the norms of international humanitarian law. We are witnessing attacks on hospitals, schools, and humanitarian facilities, as well as the abduction and intimidation of UN personnel – all of this undermines the very foundation of humanitarian response. And this is unfolding when 239 million people throughout the world need urgent humanitarian assistance.
Mr. President,
Some experts and even some delegations are attempting to link the current challenges to the need to craft additional international legal instruments and enhance the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Yet, we stand convinced that the necessary international norms have long existed and are well known, namely the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols thereof, as well as the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. We firmly believe that the current crisis is triggered not by a scarcity of legal instruments, but rather by the fact that these documents are being applied selectively or simply being disregarded by certain countries. Let us recall that even among the permanent members of the Security Council there are States that have not acceded to these key documents.
Speaking of the role of the ICC, let me note that this “pseudo-court” has completely discredited itself, having morphed into a tool for political manipulation and pressure by a number of Western countries; any doubt about its biased positions have long evaporated.
It is clear to us that it is not creating new mechanisms or boilerplate declarations that we need to focus on today, but rather ensuring a stringent implementation of already existing norms. We also need to remember that primary responsibility for the safety and security of humanitarian organizations is to be borne by the States on whose territories they operate. That is precisely why protecting their personnel must be prioritized by humanitarian structures. To this end, they need to establish cooperation with the authorities of the host country in such a way as to mitigate risks and ensure sustainability, safety and security for their operations.
Thank you.
