August 19 is World Humanitarian Day. “Around the world, conflict is forcing record numbers of people from their homes, with over 65 million people now displaced. Children are recruited by armed groups and used to fight. Women are abused and humiliated. As humanitarian workers deliver aid and medical workers provide for those in need, they are all too often targeted or treated as threats.” — UN Secretary-General, António Guterres
What Can You Do to Change the World?
On 19 August 2003, a terrorist attack hit the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, killing 22 people. Among those who lost their lives was Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN’s top representative in Iraq.
Five years later, the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19th of August, World Humanitarian Day. Every year since then, the humanitarian community has organised global campaigns to commemorate WHD, advocating for the safety and security of humanitarian aid workers and for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crisis.
One Humanity
We need to continue to bring attention to the millions of civilians affected by armed conflicts everyday. Children are recruited and used to fight, their schools destroyed. Women are abused and humiliated.