Australia is leading a new global initiative to protect aid workers in warzones, after the death of Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza earlier this year.
Last year was the deadliest on record for aid workers, with more than 280 killed, and more wounded and kidnapped.
In 2024, more have been killed in conflict zones including Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, and elsewhere.
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Almost 300 aid workers have been killed in Gaza alone since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas, including Frankcom.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is meeting with leading humanitarian organisations in New York, including UNICEF, the international Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, World Central Kitchen and the World Food Programme to discuss how best to protect people delivering vital aid to civilians in the world’s most dangerous regions.
The federal government then plans to work with other countries to create a declaration of steps to protect aid workers in war zones, with the rest of the world invited to sign up.
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Zomi Frankcom’s family said in a statement they supported the action.
”People like Zomi are rare and their bravery and selflessness should be not only celebrated but protected. They can’t be brave at any cost,” the family said.
“Zomi wasn’t naive enough to believe there weren’t risks, but to carry out the work she believed so passionately in, she needed to be able to trust that the deconfliction mechanisms in place would protect her.”
The family said Frankcom deserved her the right to work for the people she served “in the most desperate moments of their lives”.
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“Her aid work made her braver than most, and her work took her to some dangerous situations, but she was driven by a passion and clear purpose to feed and help people who needed it,” they said.
“She brought joy and hope and light to communities in some of the darkest hours of their lives.”
The family called for an end to the “blatant disregard” for the safety of aid workers and civilians in Gaza, and a ceasefire to halt the conflict.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said 2024 was on track to surpass 2023 as the deadliest year on record for aid workers.
“Australia is deeply concerned by this trend. It signifies that the rules and norms that protect humanitarian personnel are at risk, with consequences for current and future conflicts,” she said.
“It also signifies that calls for compliance with international humanitarian law are not being heard.
“Australia felt this deeply with the IDF’s strike against World Central Kitchen vehicles in April, which killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues.”
She called for the international community to re-dedicate itself to protecting aid workers in conflict zones.
“Gaza is the deadliest place on earth to be an aid worker.
“We want to ensure that their tragic deaths are not in vain and do not continue.
“Now is the moment for the international community to rededicate itself to the protection of aid workers in conflict zones.”
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