Today, Gilles Michaud, Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, pressed the Security Council to take immediate steps to protect UN and humanitarian personnel, warning that a dangerous culture of impunity is taking hold in conflict zones.
“Those who target humanitarian and United Nations personnel do (so) because they can get away with it” he told the Council. “This must end.”
Since his last briefing, no new Member States have joined the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. Meanwhile, attacks have continued. In Gaza, the collapse of the ceasefire has been marked by intense violence, including direct strikes on clearly marked UN facilities. Eleven more UN staff have been killed, bringing the total to 288 since the conflict began.
The Under-Secretary-General also cited ongoing risks in Sudan, Haiti, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where humanitarian workers face regular threats, assaults, and harassment — often aimed at silencing them and disrupting aid efforts. Local staff, he stressed, bear the greatest burden.
He warned that funding cuts are forcing agencies to scale back assistance, increasing tensions on the ground and putting personnel at even greater risk. The consequences, he said, are already visible.
Despite growing challenges, he reaffirmed that the United Nations would continue to support its humanitarian partners wherever they operate. But he called on the Council and Member States to match that commitment with concrete steps to uphold international law and ensure accountability.
“I am very confident that there are, and always will be, many people with the passion and courage to help the most vulnerable, - even in the most dangerous places...Will we – the UN security system, the international community, and this Council, find the same courage and conviction to protect them?”
"I urge each and every Council member to lead the way."
