Brussels, 22/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - Humanitarian work is high risk with the number of attacks against humanitarian posts tripling over the last decade. Afghanistan holds the sad record for these attacks (36 people killed, more than 50 kidnapped since 2011), followed by Darfur in Sudan, and Syria has for the last year become a dangerous country for humanitarian workers. Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response highlighted this during World Humanitarian Day on 19 August.
According to the United Nations, “since 2011, 109 humanitarian workers have been killed, 143 others were wounded and 132 have been kidnapped”. “The overwhelming majority of these victims were not international aid workers but those serving in their own country working closest to the local population. Crimes against unarmed civilians are never justified. When these crimes are committed against people who dedicate their lives to saving others the injustice is even more apparent. And the safety and security of aid workers is directly linked to safe access to vulnerable populations and the sustainable delivery of assistance. Thousands of vulnerable people can be left without essential support if programmes are suspended or closed due to insecurity”, Georgieva said. This is particularly the case in Syria where, despite the extremely limited access for humanitarian workers on the ground, “no fewer than six have been killed since the beginning of the year”, she said.
Syria, humanitarian agencies ring alarm bells. Humanitarian agencies are particularly worried by the situation of more than a million and a half displaced people in the country (that is about ten times more than Syrian refugees registered in neighbouring countries) and yet who are not receiving either emergency humanitarian aid or the attention they need due to a lack of insufficient access to the area, the agencies wrote to the UN and Arab League on Wednesday 22 August. They called on the international community to reach an agreement with the Syrian authorities to secure access to humanitarian aid in the country and to guarantee that sufficient funds be made available. Although numerous displaced people are welcomed by local communities, their constant increase has now overtaken the capacity of local populations to bring them help. Hundreds of thousands of people are today living in public buildings (schools, universities, mosques and churches) where great insecurity reigns. “There is a danger that those displaced within Syria are being forgotten or overlooked. The violence and extreme restrictions on humanitarian access mean hundreds of thousands of people are at risk, especially pregnant women, children and the elderly. They are cut off from essential services and may not have enough to eat or drink. We urgently need to get into Syria to be able to help them,” said Mike Penrose, Save the Children's Humanitarian Director. Up to now the EU has mobilised €40 million in humanitarian aid but has not succeeded in entering the country. (AN/transl.fl)