The International Development Committee is appointed to scrutinise the work of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. The Committee’s focus is aid policy and the expenditure of Official Development Assistance across UK government departments.
In December 2024, the Committee opened an inquiry into humanitarian access and adherence to international humanitarian law. The inquiry cited statistics from the Aid Work Security Database, which indicate that 280 aid workers were killed in 2023. Since the inquiry opened, new figures suggest that over 320 aid workers were killed in 2024 – a record-breaking number.
The inquiry seeks to understand what the UK Government is doing to address the root causes of this issue. In particular, it focuses on the government’s encouragement of other parties to adhere to International Humanitarian Law. The inquiry also examines how the protection and support of aid delivery workers is built into government funding arrangements with delivery partners.
The International Development Committee invited oral and written evidence for the inquiry. With the input of its diverse membership of over 130 international NGOs, GISF submitted evidence to the inquiry in January 2025.
You can read our full submission by downloading the file on this page.
If you have any questions or comments related to GISF’s submission, please contact alyssa@gisf.ngo.