To mark World Humanitarian Day, this episode examines how the rules of war have changed in our increasingly polarised world and asks how we can better protect the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance.

World Humanitarian Day recognises and raises awareness of the courageous work of humanitarians around the world. It was established by the UN to commemorate the anniversary of a bomb attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, which killed 22 humanitarian workers including the UN’s chief humanitarian in Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Last year was the deadliest on record for humanitarian workers, and 2024 could be even worse. The past few months have seen egregious attacks against aid workers in Gaza and in lesser reported conflicts, including in Sudan and South Sudan. International Humanitarian Law – designed to protect aid workers and civilians – has been repeatedly flouted.

This episode puts these crises under the spotlight. We reflect on what these worrying trends reveal about the humanitarian aid system and the evolution of armed conflict today, as well as state of our global rules-based order.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Sorcha O’Callaghan, Director of the Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI
• Abby Stoddard, Partner, Humanitarian Outcomes
• Ola Mohammed, Gaza Programme Manager, Muslim Aid
  
  

Related resources

• Humanitarians in the line of fire: when acting for humanity proves deadly
  
  
• The meeting of humanitarian and civic space in Sudan: lessons for localisation
  
  
• Event recap: Sounding the alarm on Sudan’s hunger crisis
  
  
• Whatever happens now, South–South solidarity with Gaza has already exposed the West
  
  
• Gaza: a litmus test for the humanitarian sector’s commitment to decolonisation?
  
  
• Humanitarian hypocrisy, double standards and the law in Gaza