However, attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally occurred, and become more frequent since the s and s. The foremost collector of data on attacks against humanitarian workers is the Aid Worker Security Database AWSD , which has strict parameters allowing for the data to be compared across the globe over time, producing useful analysis for the humanitarian, policy and academic community.
In , the Aid Worker Security Database documented humanitarian workers killed in intentional attacks out of the estimated global population of , workers. In every year since , more than humanitarian workers were killed. Additionally they stated that aid workers were killed in the Israel-Hamas War , the highest number recorded in a single crisis. The legal basis for the protection of humanitarian workers in armed conflicts is contained in the Geneva Conventions of and the related Protocols I and II of These treaties outline the rights and obligations of non-combatants who fulfill the criteria of protected persons during armed conflicts.
These rights include the right to be treated humanely; to have access to food, water, shelter, medical treatment, and communications; to be free from violence to life and person, hostage taking , and humiliating or degrading treatment; and the prohibition against collective punishment or imprisonment. Protected persons include citizens and nationals of countries that are not a party to the conflict, except if such persons happens to be in the territory of a belligerent power, which maintains diplomatic relations with their home states.
While the Geneva Conventions guarantee protection for humanitarian workers, they do not guarantee access of humanitarian workers to affected areas: governments or occupying forces may, if they wish, ban a relief agency from working in their area.
In addition, the Geneva Conventions do not require that parties to the conflict guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers. 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 , the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution giving greater protection to humanitarian workers and treating attacks on them as a war crime.
