Amman, Sept. 22 (Petra) -- Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Ayman Safadi joined the launch of the Declaration on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel on Monday, a joint initiative sponsored by Jordan, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Sierra Leone, Switzerland and the United Kingdom on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s high-level week in New York.
In his remarks, Safadi said there was "no more urgent time than now to raise our collective voice against the violation of international law and the targeting of humanitarian workers," noting that last year was the deadliest on record for aid personnel, with 385 killed worldwide.
He highlighted Gaza as the most striking example of the collapse of international humanitarian law, describing it as "not only the most dangerous place on earth for civilians today, but also the most dangerous place on earth for humanitarian workers." Safadi said Israel has targeted at least 543 aid workers over the past two years, killing 373 UN humanitarian staff, the highest death toll the United Nations has recorded in its history. He stressed that these violations occur while the blockade of Gaza continues to starve civilians, with Israel obstructing the delivery of food and medicine and placing aid workers in harm’s way "in systematic breach of international humanitarian law." "This atrocity cannot continue," he said. "We must all work together to protect international humanitarian law, safeguard our shared human values, and defend both innocent civilians and humanitarian workers." He underlined Jordan’s firm support for the new declaration, calling it "a genuine plan of action to save lives and restore faith in international law." Safadi signed the declaration, which reaffirms commitments to uphold international humanitarian law, guarantee safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance, protect local and international aid workers, and strengthen accountability mechanisms in line with international law and UN resolutions.
Separately, the foreign minister also took part in the 20th ministerial meeting on the Middle East, organized by the International Peace Institute in cooperation with Qatar and the European Union. Discussions focused on ending the war on Gaza, ensuring the opening of crossings for aid delivery, and halting Israeli attacks in the West Bank and the wider region.
//Petra// AA
