GENEVA: Dozens of Red Cross staff and volunteers gathered Wednesday for a candlelight vigil for more than 30 of their colleagues killed in 2024, during the deadliest year on record for humanitarians.
More than 100 people crowded outside the headquarters of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva, most donning red vests and carrying candles.
The tribute came as a Palestine Red Crescent volunteer was killed Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, which “brings the total number of IFRC network members killed worldwide this year to 32,” the group said in a statement.
“Alaa Al-Derawi, a member of PRCS’s emergency medical team, was fatally shot in the Khan Younis area of Gaza, shortly after transporting patients for treatment. He was returning to base when the incident occurred,” it said.
In Geneva, standing in the stinging cold in front of a banner emblazoned with the words “Protect Humanity,” some held up pictures of the staff and volunteers killed this year while performing their humanitarian duties.
“We are shocked. We are appalled,” Nena Stoiljkovic, the IFRC’s Under Secretary-General for Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization, told the gathering.
“We are not a target,” added IFRC official Frank Mohrhauer.
Following a minute of silence, an IFRC staff member solemnly read out the names of those killed.
They were among a record number of aid workers who have perished around the world this year.
Already last month, the United Nations said the record number of 280 humanitarians killed in 2023 had been surpassed, and the number has kept climbing.
Israel’s devastating war in Gaza has especially been driving up the numbers, but aid workers were also subject to violence and killings in a range of countries including Sudan and Ukraine.
“2024 is now the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, especially for local staff and volunteers worldwide,” Stoiljkovic said.
“This grim milestone has not spared the IFRC network,” she said, pointing to more “heartbreaking news” just last week when another Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer was killed, and eight others injured in an attack.
“They were rescuing people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance,” she said.
Stoiljkovic told AFP that the event, which came before International Volunteers’ Day on Thursday, provided “a moment to reflect” on the towering losses with “sadness and compassion.”
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Red Cross marks record numbers of humanitarians killed in 2024
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Red Cross marks record numbers of humanitarians killed in 2024
- “2024 is now the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, especially for local staff and volunteers worldwide,” Stoiljkovic says
France to vaccinate cattle for lumpy skin disease as farmers protest against cull
PARIS: France will vaccinate 1 million head of cattle in the coming weeks against lumpy skin disease, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said on Saturday, as protesting farmers blocked roads in opposition to the government’s large-scale culling policy.
The announcement comes after several outbreaks of the highly contagious disease prompted authorities to order the culling of entire herds, sparking demonstrations by farmers who consider the measure excessive.
Lumpy skin disease is a virus spread by insects that affects cattle and buffalo, causing blisters and reducing milk production. While not harmful to humans, it often results in trade restrictions and severe economic losses.
“We will vaccinate nearly one million animals in the coming weeks and protect farmers. I want to reiterate that the state will stand by affected farmers, their losses will be compensated as well as their operating losses,” Genevard told local radio network ICI.
France says that total culling of infected herds, alongside vaccination and movement restrictions, is necessary to contain the disease and allow cattle exports. If the disease continues to spread in livestock farms, it could kill “at the very least, 1.5 million cattle,” Genevard told Le Parisien daily in a previous interview.
A portion of the A64 motorway south of Toulouse remained blocked since Friday afternoon, with about 400 farmers and some 60 tractors still in place on Saturday morning, according to local media.
The government, backed by the main FNSEA farming union, maintains that total culling of infected herds is necessary to prevent the disease from spreading and triggering export bans that would devastate the sector.
But the Coordination Rurale, a rival union, opposes the systematic culling approach, calling instead for targeted measures and quarantine protocols.
“Vaccination will be mandatory because vaccination is protection against the disease,” Genevard said, adding that complete culling remains necessary in some cases because the disease can be asymptomatic and undetectable.
France detected 110 outbreaks across nine departments and culled about 3,000 animals, according to the agriculture ministry. It has paid nearly six million euros to farmers since the first outbreak on June 29.
The announcement comes after several outbreaks of the highly contagious disease prompted authorities to order the culling of entire herds, sparking demonstrations by farmers who consider the measure excessive.
Lumpy skin disease is a virus spread by insects that affects cattle and buffalo, causing blisters and reducing milk production. While not harmful to humans, it often results in trade restrictions and severe economic losses.
“We will vaccinate nearly one million animals in the coming weeks and protect farmers. I want to reiterate that the state will stand by affected farmers, their losses will be compensated as well as their operating losses,” Genevard told local radio network ICI.
France says that total culling of infected herds, alongside vaccination and movement restrictions, is necessary to contain the disease and allow cattle exports. If the disease continues to spread in livestock farms, it could kill “at the very least, 1.5 million cattle,” Genevard told Le Parisien daily in a previous interview.
A portion of the A64 motorway south of Toulouse remained blocked since Friday afternoon, with about 400 farmers and some 60 tractors still in place on Saturday morning, according to local media.
The government, backed by the main FNSEA farming union, maintains that total culling of infected herds is necessary to prevent the disease from spreading and triggering export bans that would devastate the sector.
But the Coordination Rurale, a rival union, opposes the systematic culling approach, calling instead for targeted measures and quarantine protocols.
“Vaccination will be mandatory because vaccination is protection against the disease,” Genevard said, adding that complete culling remains necessary in some cases because the disease can be asymptomatic and undetectable.
France detected 110 outbreaks across nine departments and culled about 3,000 animals, according to the agriculture ministry. It has paid nearly six million euros to farmers since the first outbreak on June 29.
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