Brussels – July 16th, 2024 – Hostage Aid Worldwide (HAW), in collaboration with EU Watch, is proud to announce the release of its 2024 Mid-Year European Union Report. This extensive report sheds light on the critical issues of hostage-taking and unlawful detentions affecting EU citizens globally, offering deep insights on trends and data-driven analysis to inform strategies for prevention and resolution.
This report incorporates data from 1984 to 2024, illustrating the bleak reality of hostage-taking and unlawful detentions. The report also provides detailed statistical analysis of current hostage demographics and trends driven by HAW’s Hostage Metrics Engine and Hostage Risk Predictor, available via the Hostage Aid Worldwide app.
The report lays out key areas of interest for recent EU hostage cases. EU citizens have faced significant danger in two areas in recent years, Iran and Gaza. Specifically, the October 7th attack by Hamas and Iran’s increasing use of hostages as bargaining chips. Some highlights of the report include:
- Iran is unlawfully detaining EU citizens at an accelerating rate;
- Ransom and prisoner swaps have skyrocketed as the main type of release for EU citizens over the past two years; and
- Length of detentions were considerably less for EU citizens compared with other countries. For instance, nearly 8 in 10 citizens of the United Kingdom taken hostage or unlawfully detained are held for more than 3 years while around 4 in 10 European citizens are held for more than 3 years.
In the first half of 2024, six known EU citizens were taken hostage or unlawfully detained across countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, Venezuela, Turkey, Ethiopia, and Iraq. 14 EU citizens have been released during this period, signaling some progress amid ongoing challenges.
Nizar Zakka, President of Hostage Aid Worldwide, emphasizes the importance of this report as a crucial resource for policymakers, international organizations, and civil society. “Our goal is to foster a world where every individual, regardless of nationality, can live free from the fear of being taken hostage. We believe that by using data and statistics, we can gain valuable insights that will help us combat and ultimately eradicate hostage-taking and unlawful detentions,” Zakka stated.
Access the HAW EU 2024 Mid-Year Report here.
