12 March 2026 09:08 UTC · European Commission · EU Commission Press Release · Source · Email X Link

European Commission says EU will protect women aid workers

Key points

Protect women aid workers
Prioritise accountability, justice, and survivor leadership

TL;DR

Commissioner Lahbib reports women aid workers are being deliberately targeted, including sexual violence, in eastern Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Gaza, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.
European Commission notes International Humanitarian Law obliges protection and cites the Declaration on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, the UNGA resolution, and UNSCR 2730 while calling for greater accountability and implementation.
European Commission says the EU's Protect Aid Workers programme provides gender-focused training and trauma-informed psychological support and prioritises women-led organisations.
Commissioner Lahbib outlines four priorities: better data on attacks, funded specialised legal services, legal reform and sustained international pressure, and survivor-led decision making; the EU will convene an international conference including aid workers.

Original text

European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at Protecting Aid Workers New York, 12 March 2026 Last month, I travelled to the Great Lakes region on a humanitarian mission. Thousands of women and children have fled unspeakable violence in eastern Congo. You could see the trauma, on their bodies, in their eyes. In that sea of suffering, I met Michelle. She is an aid worker at the Cishemere refugee camp in Burundi. 8,000 people in a camp built for just a few hundred. Michelle was calm and steady. A pillar of strength. A hand of kindness for women and children who had lost everything. Over the past year, I have met hundreds of women like Michelle. Women who carry food, water, and medicine to the suffering. Women who are often the first face a survivor sees. The first voice that says: You are safe now . They work in Sudan, Gaza, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. They serve others, and far too often they become victims themselves. International Humanitarian Law is crystal clear: humanitarian workers must be protected. Not as a favour, but as a legal obligation. Yet women aid workers are being deliberately targeted because they are women. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war to intimidate, silence, and push them out. In 2019, nearly one out in ten attacks involving female aid workers included sexual violence. And that number is only the tip of the iceberg because this violence is hidden, underreported, silenced. Even when survivors speak out, justice rarely follows. In most conflict zones, specialised legal support simply does not exist. The European Union is not here to issue statements of concern. We are here to act. Together with 112 countries and OCHA, IFRC, UNDSS, and Legal Action Worldwide, we supported the Declaration on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, initiated by Australia. The EU facilitated the annual UNGA resolution on the safety and security of UN and Humanitarian Personnel. It recognises that gender equality is fundamental to humanitarian action and commits to the safe, equal participation of women aid workers. But signatures are not enough. Ink does not protect people. Accountability does. Implementation does. UN Security Council Resolution 2730 was an important step. But more needs to be done to address the gendered nature of this violence. We will continue to push until that gap is closed. Through the EU's Protect Aid Workers programme, we are taking targeted action. We are paying special attention to women and women-led organisations who are most exposed to risk, yet too often overlooked in the response. We are integrating gender-focused training so those who protect others know how recognise violence, respond to it, and report it. Recognise. Respond. Report. We are also ensuring access to trauma-informed psychological support tailored to women's needs. So what more can we do? First, we need better data. You can't fix what you can't see. We need systematic evidence on attacks against women aid workers, including sexual violence. Second, we must fund specialised legal services for survivors. Gender-responsive, survivor-centred support that reaches women even in the toughest environments. Third, we must tear down the barriers to justice: laws that shield perpetrators, norms that silence victims, institutions that look the other way. This must be confronted through national legal reform and through sustained international pressure. No excuses. No blind spots And fourth, most importantly, survivors must lead. They must be at the centre of every decision. That is why the European Union will convene an international conference on the protection of humanitarian personnel. We will bring aid workers into the room to shape the agenda and define the solutions, with real focus on women and gender-specific risks. This year's Commission on the Status of Women focuses on access to justice for women and girls. Today, we say something simple: justice must also protect those who protect others. The European Union stands with humanitarian workers, with women-led organisations under threat, and with every survivor who found the courage to speak out. We owe them more than solidarity. We owe them justice. SPEECH/26/599

European Commission says EU will protect women aid workers

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