While the world celebrates World Humanitarian Day (WHD) as declared by the United Nations on August 19, every year, medics, nurses, doctors and civil defense members in the Middle East lose their lives to indiscriminate, systematic and sometimes direct targeting, arrest or enforced disappearance.
Governments, and also militias, in the Middles East continue to consider humanitarian workers enemies; targeting doctors, nurses, paramedics and civil defense personnel, especially in war and conflict-torn areas, such as Syria, Yemen, the Palestinian Territories and Libya.
Cases of serious violations against humanitarian workers have grown even rampant in recent years, including direct targeting, which resulted in several workers being killed.
Such violations constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law, which provides special protections for humanitarian workers in conflict zones.
On this occasion, and as part of its work to monitor and document human rights violations in these countries, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor highlights some of the violations committed by some actors against humanitarian workers in four areas; Syria, the Palestinian Territories, Yemen and Libya.