Pakistan urges security for Blue Helmets

Demands accountability, adherence to international law

UNITED NATIONS:

Amid rising levels of humanitarian workers and United Nations personnel killed in armed conflict, the UN Security Council on Wednesday explored ways to strengthen protection, with Pakistan calling for "practical measures" to end violence against them.

"If those who carry out humanitarian action and UN responsibilities are no longer protected, then the entire edifice of civilian protection is weakened," Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council, which debated 'Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (SC Resolution 2730).

In this regard, he called for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2730, which reaffirmed the obligation of all parties to armed conflict to respect and protect humanitarian workers, including local aid workers and UN personnel.

"The continued rise in attacks against humanitarian and UN personnel reflects a dangerous erosion of respect for international law," the Pakistani envoy said, while pointing to the implementation of international humanitarian law as the starting point for reversing trends. "Humanitarian workers and UN personnel, including peacekeepers, must be respected and protected in all circumstances."

Further, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said accountability must be strengthened. "Impunity only invites repetition."

"When such attacks are not met with consequences, the result is predictable: violations increase and risks deepen", he said, calling for prompt, impartial, transparent and effective investigations.

"Perpetrators must be identified and held accountable," Ambassador Asim Ahmad demanded.

He urged member states to operationalize resolution 2730 through practical measures under UN auspices, notably to improve the monitoring of attacks, reporting on trends and follow-up on investigations.

Protection also must be better integrated in to operational planning, the Pakistani envoy, while underscoring the need for conflict prevention and resolution, mediation, and early action, all for promoting peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the UN Charter.

"Those who protect civilians must not themselves be left unprotected," Ambassador Asim Ahmad emphasized.

Opening the debate, Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, reported that in 2025 at least 326 humanitarian workers were killed across 21 countries, bringing the total over the past three years to more than 1,010. By comparison, 377 humanitarian workers were killed globally in the preceding three years.

This almost threefold increase "is not an accidental escalation - it is the collapse of protection," he said, adding that of those deaths, more than 560 occurred in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan and 25 each in Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).