Providing aid in insecure environments: 2009 Update

In 2008, 260 humanitarian aid workers were killed, kidnapped or seriously injured in violent attacks – the highest yearly toll on record. This HPG Policy Brief analyses 12 years worth of data on attacks on aid workers. The figures are examined by location, tactics, and the types of organisation and staff affected. The report recognises the trend of aid organisations attempting to disassociate themselves from political actors and reinforce the principles of humanitarian independence and neutrality, but at the same time warns that in these most highly contested political/military environments this approach will not necessarily achieve security for aid workers on the front lines.