On Friday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution calling on states to uphold and secure the safety of the United Nations and humanitarian personnel, in accordance with international law. The resolution, 2730 (2024), was proposed by Switzerland and passed with a 14-0 vote, Russia being the lone abstention.
The resolution urges nations and factions involved in conflicts to protect humanitarian workers and act in adherence to international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention.
Switzerland’s ambassador to the UN, Pascale Baeriswyl, praised the firm backing the resolution received from member states. She reiterated the necessity for safeguarding the lives of humanitarian workers and volunteers who provide aid to individuals in conflict-ridden regions. She cited the duty to protect regional humanitarian personnel, who account for more than 90 percent of the total casualties in conflict areas. Baeriswyl also indicated new challenges, including disinformation and misinformation, facing UN and humanitarian personnel in the present era.
Other UNSC members of the current term expressed strong support for the proposed resolution, including Japan, Algeria, Mozambique, Guyana, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia. The Republic of Korea commended the resolution’s emphasis on shielding and empowering women humanitarian workers, and leveraging new technology in their methods of personnel protection.
Despite Russia’s UN deputy ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva, paying homage to the “courage and selflessness” of UN volunteers and humanitarian workers, Russia abstained from the vote, expressing disappointment over the exclusion of certain comments due to pressure from some Western delegations.
While the resolution did not mention particular conflicts, concerns were implied or explicitly articulated over the ongoing situations in Palestine, Syria, Myanmar, Ukraine, and Sudan.
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, stated previously in November that the situation in Gaza was more than a humanitarian crisis, noting an unprecedented number of UN aid workers had been killed there. He recently called for an independent inquiry into the deaths of all 196 aid workers who were killed in Gaza.