World Humanitarian Day 2024; August 19th.

FORUM: “It’s time for those in power to act for humanity. “ World Humanitarian Day 2024. For This year’s observance, we demand an end to these violations and the impunity with which they are committed. It is time for those in power to end impunity and Act For Humanity. 2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers. 2024 could be even worse. These facts lay bare a glaring truth: the world is failing humanitarian workers and, by extension, the people they serve. Despite universally accepted international laws to regulate the conduct of armed conflict and limit its impact, violations of these laws continue unabated, unchallenged and unchecked. And while civilians, including aid workers, pay the ultimate price, the perpetrators continue to evade justice. This failure of those in power cannot be allowed to continue. Attacks on humanitarian workers and humanitarian assets must stop. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #ActForHumanity, #19 August; #WorldHumanitarianDay.

EVENTS: Commemorations of the World Humanitarian day 2024.

At UNHQ in New York, On August 19th, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launches a one-week campaign to honor humanitarian workers. Our 2024 WHD efforts will confront the normalization of attacks on civilians, including humanitarians, and impunity under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The aim is to build public support to help pressure parties to conflict and world leaders to take action to ensure the protection of civilians, including humanitarians, in conflict zones. We will also release the latest aid worker security data and trends and hold events around the world to demand that those in power Act For Humanity.

CONCERT: UN Chamber Music Society | Virtual Performance in Observance of World Humanitarian Day - In celebration of World Humanitarian Day on Monday, 19 August 2024, the UN Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council (UNCMS), will pay special tribute to the real-life heroes from the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, who have committed their lives to helping others in the most extreme circumstances throughout the world. Daily, the humanitarian community provides life-saving support and protection to those most vulnerable, from refugee camps and displacement settlements to bustling cities and remote areas. As part of the ongoing efforts to support peace and humanitarian aid through music, the music programme will feature “Hold Your Fire”, composed by the renowned musical artist Kadim Al Sahir, and produced in collaboration with the UN Chamber Music Society (Brenda Vongova, Artistic Director). The song is a timeless and evocative track designed to raise awareness about all global crises in the world. Its poignant lyrics resonate with the universal human experiences of pain and loss, transcending specific events to touch the hearts of all. It symbolizes our deep commitment to promoting enduring values of love, solidarity, and unity. Learn more about the virtual performance and listen the concert!

At UN Geneva; On August 19th at 4:00 pm CET a commemorative event will be held at the Palais des Nations, Building E, 3rd Floor; Outside the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room (Room XX). The Humanitarian partners are coming together to reaffirm that civilians and aid workers caught in conflicts are not a target and to honor humanitarians who strive to meet ever-growing global needs. Register to participate to the event!

PUBLICATIONS: Reports on the humanitarian situation in the Middle east, in Africa and asia.

The Humanitarian Access SCORE Report: Gaza - the first six months (March 2024) estimated that more than 30,000 civilian deaths have included over 150 aid workers, an unprecedented number for a single context in such a short period.

The 2024 Global Humanitarian Overview requires $48.65 billion to assist 186.5 million people in need. As of end of July 2024, reported GHO funding amounts to $12.26 billion or 11 per cent less than last year at the same time.

From OPT to Sudan to Myanmar and beyond, the first half of 2024 was characterized by attacks against health, education and water and sanitation facilities that left millions of people without access to the services they need to survive. (Global Humanitarian Overview 2024)

World Humanitarian Day 2022; August 19th.

FORUM:  It takes a village. World Humanitarian Day 2022.

The 2022 WHD campaign shines a light on the thousands of volunteers, professionals and crisis-affected people who deliver urgent health care, shelter, food, protection, water and much more.

For this year’s WHD, we will use digital art to tell the stories of people in need and those who help them. At the centre of the campaign is a series of beautifully illustrated aid worker profiles that show the breadth and depth of humanitarian work and collectively symbolize the wider humanitarian village. Follow the conversation with the hashtags #worldhumanitarianday; #19August; #ItTakesAVillage

Conflict, climate change, a pandemic, hunger, displacement... Never has the world seen such complex megacrises. Yet there is a group of people who never give up easing suffering and bringing hope.

EVENTS: Day of Remembrance on the 19th Anniversary of the bomb attack on UN headquarters in Bagdad.

The 19th anniversary of the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad will be observed on Friday, 19 August 2022 with a brief ceremony organized by the Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service and DMSPC. The ceremony also marks the observance of World Humanitarian Day designated by the General Assembly in 2008 to honour humanitarian aid workers who have been killed or injured in the course of their work.

 

Statement by the Press Secretary on World Humanitarian Day 2012

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

August 19, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on World Humanitarian Day

On this fourth annual World Humanitarian Day, the United States joins the international community in honoring the courage and commitment of the dedicated aid workers who devote their lives to serving their fellow human beings, regardless of who they are and where they are, often in extremely dangerous circumstances.
From Syria to the Sahel, Yemen to Sudan, the eastern Horn of Africa to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, these unarmed aid workers risk their lives to provide life-saving assistance to millions of men, women and children. When disaster strikes, local and international humanitarians are often the first on the scene.
Today we also honor the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to others. In the past fifteen years, more than 1,000 humanitarian workers have lost their lives while helping innocent civilians in times of conflict and suffering. Since last August, 272 aid workers have been killed, injured or kidnapped. As armed groups increasingly target humanitarians, the United States condemns any effort to harm aid workers and demands that they be given the access they need to reach those in need and save lives.
As we celebrate World Humanitarian Day today, the Syrian regime continues to brutally attack its citizens and restrict the delivery of humanitarian aid to over 2.5 million people in need. Last weekend, the Government of Sudan signed a possible agreement of humanitarian access to Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, where over 665,000 people are in need. We strongly urge the Syrian and Sudanese governments to provide unfettered access to help those in need of urgent humanitarian aid.
Around the world, every humanitarian aid worker must be free to serve without fear for their safety, and every human being must be able to pursue their aspirations in peace, dignity and security.
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