As the world marks this year’s World Humanitarian Day, the Joint Monitoring & Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has called calls on all Parties to the conflict of South Sudan to protect humanitarian aid workers and asked parties to “ensure aid workers who diligently serve the society’s most vulnerable, are safe and protected.”

“Attacks on humanitarian aid workers are not only against the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access (ACoH) as signed in December 2017,but are also against international humanitarian law,” JMEC said in a statement issued on Monday.

In the recent past, the Commission said, aid workers in South Sudan “have unfortunately been targeted, threatened, abducted, killed and aid access obstructed, in blatant violations of what the ACoH was intended to achieve.”  

“JMEC reminds the Parties to the Agreement that they have a duty to ensure that aid workers in their midst are not targeted, their safety and security is guaranteed at all times, and that hindrance to access the vulnerable and displaced population, are cleared to facilitate safe humanitarian operations.”