2023 'deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers' according to the UN

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00:00Now, for World Humanitarian Day on Monday, the United Nations released its annual stats

00:05for the number of humanitarian workers killed on the job.

00:08And 2023 has broken all records, 280 having lost their lives worldwide.

00:15Most of them, 163, were killed in Gaza.

00:18But the nations of South Sudan and Sudan also appear on this grim podium.

00:24Our original correspondent Bastien Renuit reports from Kenya.

00:29Five of the 10 most dangerous countries for humanitarians are in Africa.

00:32And on the continent, South Sudan is the most dangerous country.

00:35It's ranked second globally.

00:38In 2023, 34 humanitarian workers were killed.

00:42Most of them were South Sudanese, and most of them were directly targeted.

00:46Let's take the example of what happened on the 23rd of September 2023.

00:51Three trucks were coming back to Juba after delivering assistance to children.

00:55They were attacked.

00:56Two of the three truck drivers were killed.

00:58The remaining one was severely injured.

01:01And the trucks were burnt without any reason.

01:04And that's directly impacting the population.

01:06Nine million people, three quarters of the population, need assistance at the moment

01:10in South Sudan.

01:11Let's also mention Sudan.

01:14It's ranked third globally.

01:16In 2023, 25 people were killed, most of them after the beginning of the war in April.

01:22And in Sudan, they are also directly targeted.

01:25Dozens of warehouses belonging to NGOs were looted.

01:29Hundreds of cars belonging to international organizations were stolen.

01:33And that's really preventing the delivery of aid.

01:36According to Joyce Msouya, she is the United Nations acting undersecretary for humanitarian

01:42affairs.

01:43She says that the normalizations of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability

01:49are unacceptable and unconscionable.

01:52And she has a good reason to be worried.

01:532024 could be worse than 2023.

01:57So far, at least 172 aid workers have been killed globally.

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