UN marks World Humanitarian Day, urges accountability for drone strikes
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher calls for investigations and accountability as drone warfare drives rising civilian deaths.
The United Nations marked World Humanitarian Day on Wednesday with a stark warning from its top aid official: the growing use of cheap, armed drones is making war more lethal for civilians, and those responsible must be held to account.
Speaking virtually from Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said the international community must not allow the killing of aid workers to become routine. He noted that nearly a thousand humanitarian workers have been killed, injured, or kidnapped in recent years, often in attacks involving states.
Fletcher pointed to a persistent climate of impunity, saying he could recall few meaningful investigations into the deaths. He stressed that while drone technology evolves rapidly, international humanitarian law must remain constant in protecting civilians from all weapons, however sophisticated.
The warning extended far beyond Ukraine. Fletcher described how armed drones are reshaping conflicts from Sudan to Colombia, Gaza, and Lebanon. He recounted hearing from women in Somalia who said they were fleeing not famine or violence, but drones that followed them as cheaper and more accessible technology spreads.
Citing the deaths of a thousand civilians in Sudan in the first five months of the year, Fletcher said the numbers are not static but rising, including among children. He called on states to uphold the law and on manufacturers and suppliers of these weapons to understand how they are used and to recognise their legal obligations.
World Humanitarian Day was established by the UN after the 2003 bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, which killed 22 aid workers. The day honours those who have lost their lives helping others in crisis.