Recent video footage showing British aid worker Paul Urey wearing handcuffs has sparked outrage in the UK. The 45-year-old from Warrington in Cheshire made several comments critical of the UK media’s reporting of the invasion, which his mother dismissed as her son “not acting in his natural way”, implying some manner of duress. But his abduction, along with fellow aid worker Dylan Healy, 22, is a direct breach of international humanitarian law.
Our research with international humanitarian organisations (IHOs) working in war zones suggests that, unfortunately, such disregard for the protected status of aid workers is increasing.
This problem is more widespread in conflicts we have classified in our research as “globally oriented conflicts” – meaning that the stakes are so high that multiple countries, often with strong military power, are drawn in. The conflict in Ukraine, though unique in some ways, falls under this category of conflicts.
