Voices: Humanising Humanitarians

Humanitarian personnel share their stories, experiences and realities in their own words.

The protection afforded to humanitarian personnel under international humanitarian law can sometimes feel abstract or distant, particularly for those outside the humanitarian sector. But behind the increasing levels of violence, threats and other incidents affecting humanitarian personnel are people: family members, friends, colleagues and individuals who have chosen to serve others.

Launched on World Humanitarian Day, the video series ‘Voices: Humanising Humanitarians’ brings this issue to a human level through the stories and experiences of personnel around the world. It offers a closer look at the people that make humanitarian action a reality – who they are, what drives them, the challenges they, their colleagues and their families face, and what protection means in their daily lives.

“Having worked a decade myself in the field, I know what it is to fear for your life and for the life of your team”. Joëlle Germanier, Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation.

The people behind humanitarian action

Across the series, we meet people whose experiences bring these realities into focus. In Gaza, a volunteer continues her humanitarian work through displacement and personal loss, supported by colleagues she describes as family. In Ukraine, an aid worker helps deliver medicines to communities in hard-to-reach areas. We also hear from an organisation supporting a global community of humanitarians working in some of the world’s most complex crises to strengthen their ability to negotiate humanitarian access and protection on the ground. And twenty years after the killing of their colleagues, a humanitarian organisation reflects on the enduring impact of losing staff while carrying out their work.

Together, these accounts reflect that the safety and security of humanitarian personnel ultimately concern the lives of real people and the communities they serve.

“My colleagues and I are not just coworkers—we’re brothers and sisters who support and stand by each other. Some of us lost our homes; others lost loved ones. Yet, we continue to move forward, supporting one another.”
Iman Ayash, Palestine Red Crescent Society.

The Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel provides a framework for States to strengthen respect and protection for humanitarian personnel and to translate existing obligations under international humanitarian law into practical action. It calls for better humanitarian access, stronger adherence to the rules that protect humanitarian personnel, greater alignment of protections for international, national and local workers, and stronger accountability when violations occur.

These testimonies underscore the importance of grounding implementation of the Declaration in the experiences of those delivering humanitarian assistance every day and the need to protect them in return.

Watch the first episode of Voices: Humanising Humanitarians below, and explore the full playlist here.