A Special Memorial | United Nations Memorial Service for Personnel who Lost their Lives in 2023

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Published Jun 22, 2024

UN Secretary-General paid tribute to the 188 staff who lost their lives last year in the line of duty. Amongst those were 135 men and women who worked for UNRWA in Gaza - the highest number of UN staff ever killed in a single conflict or natural disaster.

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During a memorial service in honour of United Nations personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2023, Secretary-General António Guterres said the 135 United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) personnel killed in Gaza, “lived and died as representatives of the international community in Gaza, and that community deserves an explanation.”

In total, 188 United Nations personnel lost their lives in 2023.

Guterres said some of the UNRWA personnel “were killed with their families by bombardment of their homes; others were at work, both in offices and shelters.” He reiterated his call “for a full accounting for each and every one of these deaths.”

The Secretary-General said, “they were teachers, drivers, doctors, sanitation workers, guards, pharmacists, administrative assistants and more. They were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives. They were our colleagues. They were our friends. And I am personally devastated that despite our best efforts, we could not protect our personnel in Gaza.”

In conclusion, Guterres said, “as conflicts proliferate and countries devote more resources to weapons, we stand for peace through diplomacy and dialogue; as hatred and discrimination increase, we stand for the human rights and dignity of every single person; and as the global majority endure economic turmoil, we stand for inclusive, sustainable development that leaves no one behind.”

The 135 UNRWA personnel killed in Gaza represent the highest number of UN personnel killed in a single conflict or natural disaster since the creation of the United Nations.