Bond statement on World Humanitarian Day

On World Humanitarian Day, Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development, is calling on the UK government and all states to protect the people who risk their lives to help others, and to properly fund the aid that keeps millions alive.

Romilly Greenhill, Chief Executive of Bond, the UK network for NGOs, said:

This day should be a moment of recognition and celebration of service. Instead, it comes amid the deadliest period on record for humanitarian workers. More than 1,000 humanitarian workers have been killed in the past three years, the great majority of them local staff serving their own communities. Behind every figure is a colleague, and a family left to grieve.
These are not the unavoidable costs of conflict. They follow warring parties ignoring international humanitarian law, and from an impunity that goes unchallenged. Expressions of condemnation and concern have not protected a single humanitarian worker. What is needed is accountability: every attack investigated, those responsible held to account, and safe, unimpeded access for humanitarians to reach people in need.
The UK has a proud history of defending civilians in conflict and the rules that protect them. That role is harder to sustain while the government delivers some of the steepest cuts to international assistance in the G7, and pulls back from supporting fragile and conflict-affected countries where the dangers to both civilians and humanitarian workers are greatest. Protecting humanitarians and funding their vital work are two sides of the same commitment, and on this World Humanitarian Day we urge the government to honour both.

Notes to Editors:  

1. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 330 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
2. For further information or interviews, please get in touch with Emily Loynes at [email protected] or 07909947850