130 Nations Endorse Humanitarian Protection Declaration as Aid Worker Deaths Hit Record

One year after 130-plus countries signed the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, delegates gathered at United Nations headquarters to take stock of a grim paradox: the political coalition has never been larger, but aid worker deaths have never been higher. The inaugural meeting of signatories produced new funding pledges, operational tools, and training programs — alongside pointed accusations that the international community has failed to hold any perpetrator accountable for the more than 1,000 humanitarian workers killed in the past three years.

• Australia pledges AU$10 million in new funding for frontline protection and accountability measures
• More than 1,000 aid workers killed in three years with near-zero prosecutions; Gaza singled out as the deadliest crisis
• UK Foreign Secretary calls Israel's refusal to investigate World Central Kitchen strikes "absolutely shameful"
• EU makes its Protect Aid Workers program permanent, covering 750+ workers in 25 countries
• Canada announces $2.5 million for the International NGO Safety Organization
• Switzerland launches a practical toolbox to move the Declaration from paper to operations
• IFRC chief reports 97% of killed humanitarians are local staff, demanding equal protection

The longest and most substantive segment of the meeting featured statements from 13 delegations — the eight-nation ministerial group (Indonesia, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, and the Philippines) plus Samoa, The Gambia, Fiji, the Maldives, and the European Union. Together, they turned the Declaration from a political text into something closer to an operational framework.