The European Commission and Ireland’s Presidency of the Council have hosted the first International Conference on the Protection of Humanitarian Aid Workers in Brussels on 15 – 16 October, after 1,187 aid workers were killed, injured, kidnapped or detained worldwide in 2025.
The meeting brought together governments, frontline responders, humanitarian organisations and survivors of attacks, the European Commission reported in a release on Thursday.
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib was due to deliver a keynote speech that was broadcast live.
New EU funding of €3.5 million has been mobilised in 2026 for aid worker safety through the Protect Aid Workers initiative, which the Commission said provides protection measures, post-incident assistance and legal support for humanitarian staff exposed to threats and violence.
Funding and international efforts
The Commission said the conference followed efforts such as an Australian-led declaration on protecting humanitarian personnel and a separate Global Initiative on International Humanitarian Law — rules intended to limit harm during armed conflict.
Lahbib stated that aid workers were facing rising dangers, including from drones, and described them as “not the collateral damage of war.”
