BY
MS. SONIA U. KARIM
MINISTER COUNSELLOR
Mr. President,
Sierra Leone commends Switzerland for the leadership, successful negotiation and adoption of resolution 2730 of 2024 on the Protection of Humanitarian and United Nations and Associated Personnel and their premises and assets.
We also commend the Security Council for demonstrating unity on this important issue, and Sierra Leone is pleased to be a co-sponsor of the resolution.
As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the protection of civilians on the agenda of the Security Council, and the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, this resolution reaffirms the Council’s commitment to international humanitarian law amid the contemporary political and security challenges. It also reinforces Council’s strong condemnation of violence against humanitarian workers in a similar vein as resolutions 1502 (2003) and 2175 (2014) of the Council.
The Secretary-General’s 2024 report on the Protection of Civilians identifies attacks against humanitarian workers as a major impediment to effective humanitarian support in conflict situations in 2023. The number of aid workers killed in 2023 more than doubled from 118 in 2022 to 261 in 2023; with an additional 278 aid workers kidnapped and 196 wounded worldwide.
It is unacceptable that this Council has passed ten resolutions in total urging States to ensure accountability for unlawful killings of aid workers, to date, and they have continued with little consequences. This resolution sends a strong message of solidarity to humanitarian workers worldwide.
My delegation urges this Council to remain seized of the gaps and challenges faced by humanitarian workers, including challenges to access justice when they are the victim of attacks and the need for improved security risk management strategies to enhance the protection of humanitarian workers in armed conflict.
I thank you.
