EU Commissioner Lahbib on World Humanitarian Day: 2025 could break last year’s record for deaths of aid workers

“The EU is one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid donors, working to save millions of lives in crisis situations globally,” the EU Commission for Equality Hadja Lahbib said in a statement to mark World Humanitarian Day, celebrated on 19 August.

In her statement, she drew attention to the humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza, as well as other crises unfolding beyond the public eye.

Commissioner Lahbib highlighted that respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) was under threat. 

“Targeted attacks on civilians and aid workers, along with the attacks against hospitals, schools, and other civilian targets are surging, while access to lifesaving aid is increasingly denied,” Hadja Lahbib said. “Yet the ‘rules of war’ established by the Geneva Conventions in 1949 remain unchanged: violating IHL is a crime.”

According to Lahbib, delivering humanitarian aid has never been so dangerous: “2024 was the deadliest year on record for aid workers with 383 killed, 308 wounded and 125 kidnapped. With 265 aid workers killed in 2025, we risk surpassing last year’s tragic record.”

The commissioner also called for accountability for the killing of aid workers and said that humanitarian aid “is not enough on its own”. 

“Ending the suffering caused by conflicts and man-made crises requires courageous political leadership and action to forge lasting peace and protect the most vulnerable,” Lahbib concluded.

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