All too often humanitarian workers themselves are the targets of attack by wa...

All too often humanitarian workers themselves are the targets of attack by warring parties and terrorists. Such intimidation and violence is appalling and unacceptable. While eight United Nations peacekeeping missions are now mandated to protect civilians from physical violence, many civilians suffer not only from indiscriminate attacks but from attacks directed at them deliberately. The United States calls for more concrete actions to hold accountable those who attack humanitarian and peacekeeping personnel. We must also pursue accountability in places where insurgents and terrorists hide among civilian populations and turn communities into battlefields. Those groups continue to inflict unspeakable crimes on innocents. In some cases, they actively use religious establishments, hospitals and neighbourhoods to launch rocket and mortar attacks and compromise the protection of civilians in such areas.