International Day for People of African Descent 2025; August 31st.

FORUM: "People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice, and Development." International Day for People of African Descent 2025; An initiative have been developed during the launch of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, to amplify global efforts toward justice and development for individuals of African descent. Societies around the world are increasingly recognizing the role structural racism plays in driving social, economic and political inequalities; several countries have made racial profiling and discrimination illegal and have introduced policies to promote the rights and choices for people of African descent. Governments have accelerated their efforts to make Afrodescendants more statistically visible in order to address historical injustices and to bridge gaps in access to health care, social services and opportunities. Further action, political will and investments are needed to end inequalities and ensure the full empowerment of people of African descent.Today we honour and celebrate the many African diaspora who continue to make extraordinary contributions across the world and re-commit to eliminate all forms of discrimination against them. Follow the conversations with the hashtags #AfricanDescent, #InternationalDecadeforPeopleofAfricanDescent; #africandescentday; #31august, #StandUp4HumanRights, #FightRacism.

EVENT: On August 31st; from 14:30 to 16:00 pm EST, a virtual event will be held to mark the 5th edition of the International Day for People of African Descent. The United Nations General Assembly invites all Member States, all organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, the private sector and academia, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe the International Day in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness-raising activities, in order to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent. By fostering collaboration among governments, organizations, and communities we can find way to create a more equitable future in which the aspirations and rights of people of African descent are fully recognized, honored, and celebrated. You are invited to Register to participate!

Statement of the United Nations Secretary General on the International Day for People of African Descent 2025; August 31st.

On the International Day for People of African Descent, we honour the extraordinary contributions of people of African descent across every sphere of human endeavour.

But we also recognise enduring injustices. The legacies of slavery and colonialism cast long shadows – seen in systemic racism, unequal economies and societies, and the digital divide. White supremacy and dehumanizing narratives are amplified by social media, and, too often, racial bias is encoded in algorithms.

Eighty years after the United Nations Charter reaffirmed the equal rights and inherent dignity of every human being, and sixty years since the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, it is long past time to right historic wrongs.

The Global Digital Compact takes a step forward, with commitments to tackle discrimination and hate speech in digital technologies. And the second International Decade for People of African Descent must drive real change -- including working towards a United Nations Declaration on the full respect of people of African descent’s human rights.

Let’s make this a decade of action – for justice, dignity and equality for people of African descent around the world.

António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General.

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Statement from Mr Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the International Day for People of African Descent 2025; August 31st.

People of African descent have built a rich heritage of creative excellence, of transformative leadership, and of enduring resilience. They have shaped the world in ways that cannot be measured. The International Day for People of African descent is an opportunity to celebrate their diverse contributions to societies. Today also serves as a call to step up efforts to address the persistent injustices against them. the legacy of colonialism and the trade in enslaved Africans. Because of systemic racism, people of African descent are more likely to live in poverty and to experience discrimination across the board, from access to housing and health care to education and political representation.
Damaging stereotypes fuel racially motivated violence, hate speech, and supremacist ideologies that threaten their safety and dignity. This community faces systemic discrimination in their interactions with law enforcement and criminal justice and women and girls of African descent. People with disabilities and many other groups within the community experience intersectional discrimination.
To secure the full rights and freedoms of people of African descent, we need urgent progress on three fronts. First, recognition that systemic racism can only be tackled with systemic reforms.
My office, UN Human Rights, stands ready to support states to dismantle racist systems, laws, and policies. Second, reparatory justice to address the lasting impact of enslavement and colonialism.
initiatives can include truthtelling, memorialization, and formal apologies as well as reparations.
Third, improving data collection to confront entrenched racial inequalities.
What isn't counted doesn't count. So states need to monitor the differing impact of laws and policies on different communities and they need to take action grounded in robust data analysis.
The United Nations is working around the world to end the discrimination, the violence and the inequality suffered by people of African descent. I welcome the designation of the next 10 years as the
second international decade for people of African descent and I urge states to prioritize deliberation and adoption of a United Nations declaration on the respect, protection and fulfillment of the human rights of this important group. This will help to confront violations and provide guidance for  building anti-racist societies. Justice denied to people of African descent is a denial of our shared humanity. This International Day is a powerful reminder that we need to intensify the fight against racism for a just and equitable future for all.

Mr Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Statement of the UNFPA on International Day for People of African Descent 2025; August 31st.

Across the world, people of African descent continue to endure glaring inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and rights, economic opportunity and political representation. Higher rates of maternal death and adolescent pregnancy among women and girls of African descent rooted in historical patterns of race-based reproductive discrimination continue – and often go unaddressed. This year, as we mark the start of the second International Decade for People of African Descent, we have a pivotal opportunity to take concrete actions to end racism, reach reproductive justice and secure the full human rights of people of African descent worldwide. Reproductive justice requires securing sexual and reproductive health for Afrodescendent women and youth. To achieve equity and human rights, including in reproductive health, the legacies of colonialism, slavery and systemic neglect must be dismantled. We must advance universal, high-quality sexual and reproductive health services, rights and choices, from comprehensive sexuality education to contraception to pre- and postnatal care, while ensuring cultural competency and promoting gender equality and human rights. Securing reproductive justice also requires opening opportunities for Afrodescendent people to overcome poverty, including combating systemic racism, ensuring access to quality education and training, expanding access to emerging technologies such as AI, and promoting equal employment opportunities for Afrodescedent youth. The collection of high-quality data, disaggregated by race, gender and age, is critical to identifying and addressing persistent sexual and reproductive health disparities among women and girls of African descent. Recent funding cuts jeopardize long-standing data systems, highlighting the urgent need to secure sustainable investments and to develop alternative mechanisms for data collection and analysis. Statistical visibility does more than reveal needs: It openly affirms the value, contributions and belonging of Afrodescendent women and girls across the world.

UNFPA Executive-Director.

  

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2025; August 30th.

FORUM: "Stand up for the rights of the disappeared." International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2025. The United Nations and regional human rights experts urged all States to provide effective access to justice for victims of enforced disappearance, that include any individual who has suffered harm as the direct result of an enforced disappearance. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #enforceddisappearances, #30August, #access2justice,#InternationalDayOfVictimsOfEnforcedDisappearances.

EVENTS: On August 30th; The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2025 will be held at the United Nations Palace in Geneva and at UNHQ in New York. The United Nations invites authorities to strengthen operational and technical capacities, including the provision of training in mass grave exhumations, crime scene management, and mortuary procedures; to provide guidance on effective operational planning, inter-agency cooperation, chain of custody, and the upgrade mortuary facilities. In the context of the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Inter-american Commission on Human Rights, the Chairperson of the Working Group on Death Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Representatives of Indonesia and Malaysia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights jointly called on all States to make pledges to promote justice for all victims of enforced disappearances without delay, and to ratify international and regional instruments on enforced disappearances. Register to participate!

On 15 and 16 January 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. The forthcoming World Congress on Enforced Disappearances, which will take place, presents a crucial opportunity to bring States, victims and their representative organisations, national human rights institutions and experts together to find actionable solutions to eliminate and prevent enforced disappearances and promote the universal ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearances. The World Congress will allow us to identify and adopt concrete actions to address these concerns and pledge to implement them under our respective mandates. We encourage all actors involved in the fight against enforced disappearances to make the most of this event and to commit to concrete action. On this International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we reiterate our shared commitment to assisting victims worldwide and our call for collective action to end this scourge, once and for all.” The first World Congress on Enforced Disappearances provided a platform to share experiences, challenges, and best practices. This crucial step in shaping a collective path toward justice, truth, reparation, and the prevention of future disappearances, showed once again the urgency that all States ratify the Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearances.

PUBLICATIONS: 2024 Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; This report reflects the activities of the WGEID, communications and cases that it processed during the reporting period. It also includes the main findings and observations on the thematic study on enforced disappearances and elections. Explore the Thematic report: Enforced disappearances and elections -A/HRC/57/54/Add.4 and the full report. A/HRC/57/54.

STATEMENTS: The United Nations and regional human rights experts issued a joint statement today, urging all actors to join forces immediately to support victims of enforced disappearance and ensure that their rights and obligations as codified in regional and international treaties and other legal instruments. Read the full Statement by Human Rights experts ahead of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2025; August 30th.

Enforced disappearances entail a serious violation of multiple human rights, inflicting profound suffering, experienced not only by those who are forcibly disappeared, but also by their families, their communities, and by society as a whole. They are often practiced as a deliberate strategy of control through terror intended to cause suffering, instill fear, suppress dissent, and punish entire communities. Their commission involves varying degrees of participation, acquiescence, or omission by State agents.

Any act of enforced disappearance places the persons subjected thereto outside the protection of the law and at high risk of being subjected to serious human rights violations. It constitutes a violation of both international and domestic laws that guarantee, among others, the right to recognition as a person before the law, the right to liberty and security of the person and the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It also constitutes a grave threat to the right to life.

The prolonged isolation and deprivation of communication with the outside world, to which forcibly disappeared persons are subjected, are harmful to their psychological integrity and that of their relatives, and constitute a violation of the prohibition of torture and/or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Enforced disappearances prevent monitoring by national preventive mechanisms and other competent bodies, facilitating the commission of torture and/or other forms of cruel treatment. Decades of documentation of this heinous crime show how the practice has often served as a means to circumvent fundamental legal safeguards, including limitations to the duration of deprivation of liberty and the prohibition of violent interrogation methods.

Various international and regional human rights bodies, including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples? Rights, the Committee against Torture, the Human Rights Committee, and the European Court of Human Rights, have recognized enforced disappearances as a form of torture or other ill-treatment against the forcibly disappeared individuals and/or their families.

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances view with concern the continuous torture inflicted upon the relatives of the forcibly disappeared persons. The daily anguish of not knowing their fate and whereabouts, the fear of never seeing them again, as well as the silence, inaction, official indifference, and impunity that usually surround this crime, inflict on relatives unimaginable pain and despair. Scores of heart-breaking testimonies by family members refer to these experiences as a form of psychological torture or cruel treatment.

The psychological toll on family members is devastating and transgenerational, entailing lasting physical and mental health consequences such as depression, anxiety and profound trauma. Women, in particular, often bear a disproportionate burden, in most cases abruptly having to assume new roles as search organizers, advocates, on top of the additional caring or financial responsibilities they have to assume to their families.

Children grow up in the shadows of fear, doubt and anxiety created by the enforced disappearance, and the rupture of the family structure.

On this International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we urgently call on all States to strengthen their policies to prevent and eradicate this crime and to guarantee the right of relatives of disappeared persons and society as a whole to know the truth about the fate and whereabouts of those forcibly disappeared, as well as access to justice and integral reparations. We acknowledge the shared aspiration that was recalled by all participants to the World Congress on Enforced Disappearance in January 2025 for truth, healing, and dignity, and reaffirm the value of constructive dialogue and cooperation in fostering a more humane and caring society.

Enforced disappearance is a wound that corrodes the fabric of society. It is a form of torture and/or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that must be condemned unequivocally, prevented and eradicated through collective action, effective prevention, accountability, and sustained support for victims, including through the implementation of the pledges made at the World Congress on Enforced Disappearances.

We stand in solidarity with all those affected by enforced disappearances and reaffirm our commitment to truth, justice, rehabilitation, and reparations for all victims.

This is the occasion for the remaining States that have not yet ratified the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearance and the Inter- American Convention on Forced Disappearance to do their part to eradicate this heinous crime, starting with committing today to ratify them.

OHCHR Experts Joint Statement.

The UN expert of the WGEID to review of 689 cases of Enforced disappearances from 41 countries at its 135th Session from 27 to 31 January 2025.

International Day Against Nuclear Tests 2025; August 29th.

FORUM: "Remembering the Legacy, Renewing Our Commitment to a Nuclear-Test Ban." International Day Against Nuclear Tests 2025. Nuclear weapons today present tremendous dangers, but also an historic opportunity. Leadership will be required to take the world to the next stage -- to a solid consensus for reversing reliance on nuclear weapons globally as a vital contribution to preventing their proliferation into potentially dangerous hands, and ultimately ending them as a threat to the world. Strong non-proliferation efforts are under way. The Cooperative Threat Reduction program, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Additional Protocols are innovative approaches that provide powerful new tools for detecting activities that violate the NPT and endanger world security. They deserve full implementation. The negotiations on proliferation of nuclear weapons by North Korea and Iran, involving all the permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany and Japan, are crucially important. They must be energetically pursued. Nothing can play as crucial a role in avoiding a nuclear war or nuclear terrorist threat as the elimination of nuclear weapons. There have been a number of significant developments, discussions and initiatives relevant to its goals and objectives as well as conferences convened since the International Day against Nuclear Tests was first celebrated. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #EndNuclearTesting, #IDANT, #InternationalDayAgainstNuclearTests, #AgainstNuclearTests, #29August, #StepUp4Disarmament. #NuclearWeaponsFreeWorld.

EVENTS: On August 29th during the observance of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests 2025, we will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first nuclear test. We must never forget the legacy of over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests carried out over the last 80 years.

Frol 22 July to 2 August 2024 was held the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in Geneva.

Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on the International Day against Nuclear Test 2025; August 29th.

This important day arrives amid rising geopolitical tensions and growing nuclear risks — including the disturbing prospect of a return to nuclear testing.

In 2025, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first nuclear test. We must never forget the legacy of over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests carried out over the last 80 years.

The effects of these explosions have been horrific.

Nuclear tests drive displacement and contaminate lands and oceans. They sow the seeds of long-term health crises, including cancers and other chronic illnesses. And they deepen the cracks in the foundation of global trust, stability and peace.

We cannot accept this.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty remains the only internationally agreed, legally binding instrument to end all nuclear tests. Its entry into force, long overdue, is more urgent than ever. I call on all countries to ratify it — immediately and without conditions.

My message to leaders is simple: stop playing with fire. Now is the time to silence the bombs before they speak again.

António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General.

Statement by Mr. Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) on the International Day Against Nuclear Tests 2025; August 29th.


Nearly three decades ago, the world took decisive steps to bring nuclear test explosions to an end. Those actions changed the course of history. Where once the ground shook with alarming regularity, today such events are rare, a testament to the strength of our collective resolve. On 29 August, the International Day against Nuclear Tests (IDANT), we reaffirm our commitment to placing non-proliferation and disarmament first, and to ensuring that no person ever again lives in the shadow of a nuclear explosion.

I will never forget standing at ground zero in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan – a site scarred by more than 450 nuclear tests – the closure of which we also commemorate on this day. I felt the full weight of that history, a sobering reminder of what the international community must never allow to happen again.

At the height of the cold war, such tests occurred almost weekly. They were not only a grave risk to global peace and security but also had a lasting impact on public health and the environment.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature in 1996 after years of determined multilateral effort. It reflected the combined strength of diplomatic will and scientific progress. By prohibiting nuclear test explosions conducted by anyone, anywhere, at any time, the Treaty transformed decades of aspiration into a shared commitment. It signalled that the world’s nations were ready to turn a historic page.

Before CTBT was opened for signature, more than 2,000 nuclear test explosions had been conducted worldwide. Since 1996, that number has fallen to fewer than a dozen. This dramatic decline is no accident. It reflects the strength of the norm created by our Treaty and the value that the international community places on preventing any return to testing.

The Treaty is already a proven success. It has brought almost all nuclear testing to an end, placing powerful constraints on the development of new nuclear weapons and the advancement of existing designs, while fostering a strong international expectation that testing belongs in the past. Entry into force will build upon this, giving us the full range of verification measures, including on-site inspections, to further reinforce what has already been achieved.

The success of the Treaty rests on science in the service of diplomacy. Its International Monitoring System (IMS), already operating with more than 300 stations and laboratories in over 90 countries, uses seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide technologies to detect any nuclear explosion. Data from this network flow to the International Data Centre in Vienna, where they are processed around the clock and made available to all signatory States.

This transparency builds confidence. All States rely on the same objective information to assess adherence to the Treaty and to determine whether a nuclear test has taken place. Even countries that have not yet ratified the Treaty host facilities and benefit from the data. That participation reflects the value and credibility that nations place in a system built through global cooperation.

Those benefits extend well beyond peace and security: IMS data contribute to tsunami warning systems, support disaster response and help advance scientific research and understanding that serve us all.

Today’s international climate is marked by heightened tensions and evolving geopolitical dynamics. However, the record leaves little room for doubt: testing has come to an almost complete halt, and States continue to support and use the verification system. This reflects a near-universal view that nuclear testing has no place in the twenty-first century.

IDANT reminds us that change happens when people understand why it matters. Communities affected by past tests carry voices that deserve to be heard. Diplomats, scientists, educators and youth advocates help translate remembrance into prevention. Their work strengthens a culture of responsibility that maintains the silence we expect from test sites across the world.

As we observe the International Day against Nuclear Tests, we are also approaching another milestone. In 2026, we will mark 30 years since Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was opened for signature. Anniversaries invite reflection, not only on what has been achieved but also on the work that lies ahead.

Our Treaty has already had a profound impact. Nuclear test explosions have become extremely rare, and the verification regime operates with global reach and trust. We look forward to the day when Treaty enters into force, enabling all elements of the verification regime to be deployed.

Achieving this will require the remaining States to take the final step. They have the opportunity to help complete what was started almost three decades ago. Their decision to ratify the Treaty would reinforce a commitment that has already proved its worth and support a system that benefits every region.

This International Day is a reminder that the absence of nuclear test explosions is not a matter of chance. It is the outcome of decades of dedication and collaboration. Let us continue to uphold that achievement.

In a noisy world, progress can sound like nothing at all. May the measure of our vigilance be silence of in place of nuclear testing, everywhere, for all time.

CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd.

DOCUMENTARY: Embrace a world free of nuclear weapons. is a film made in support of the International Day against Nuclear Tests (29 August); To learn more watch the Disarmament Films

ACTIONS

What should be done?

 Can the promise of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the possibilities envisioned at Reykjavik be brought to fruition? 

We believe that a major effort should be launched by the United States to produce a positive answer through concrete stages. First and foremost is intensive work with leaders of the countries in possession of nuclear weapons to turn the goal of a world without nuclear weapons into a joint enterprise. Such a joint enterprise, by involving changes in the disposition of the states possessing nuclear weapons, would lend additional weight to efforts already under way to avoid the emergence of a nuclear-armed North Korea and Iran.  The program on which agreements should be sought would constitute a series of agreed and urgent steps that would lay the groundwork for a world free of the nuclear threat.

 Steps would include:

 • Changing the Cold War posture of deployed nuclear weapons to increase warning time and thereby reduce the danger of an accidental or unauthorized use of a nuclear weapon. 

• Continuing to reduce substantially the size of nuclear forces in all states that possess them.

 • Eliminating short-range nuclear weapons designed to be forward-deployed. 

• Initiating a bipartisan process with the Senate, including understandings to increase confidence and provide for periodic review, to achieve ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, taking advantage of recent technical advances, and working to secure ratification by other key states.

 • Providing the highest possible standards of security for all stocks of weapons, weapons-usable plutonium, and highly enriched uranium everywhere in the world. 

• Getting control of the uranium enrichment process, combined with the guarantee that uranium for nuclear power reactors could be obtained at a reasonable price, first from the Nuclear Suppliers Group and then from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or other controlled international reserves. It will also be necessary to deal with proliferation issues presented by spent fuel from reactors producing electricity. 

• Halting the production of fissile material for weapons globally; phasing out the use of highly enriched uranium in civil commerce and removing weapons-usable uranium from research facilities around the world and rendering the materials safe.
• Redoubling our efforts to resolve regional confrontations and conflicts that give rise to new nuclear powers.


Achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons will also require effective measures to impede or counter any nuclear-related conduct that is potentially threatening to the security of any state or peoples.


Reassertion of the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and practical measures toward achieving that goal would be, and would be perceived as, a bold initiative consistent with America's moral heritage. The effort could have a profoundly positive impact on the security of future generations. Without the bold vision, the actions will not be perceived as fair or urgent.

 Without the actions, the vision will not be perceived as realistic or possible. 

We endorse setting the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and working energetically on the actions required to achieve that goal, beginning with the measures outlined above.

World Lake Day 2025; August 27th.

FORUM: “Lakes: the lifeblood of our planet.” World Lake Day 2025. Lakes serve as a crucial source of fresh water, supporting drinking water supplies, agriculture, and industry. Lakes also play a key role in maintaining biodiversity, offering a habitat for countless species of fish, plants, and wildlife. Beyond their ecological significance, lakes contribute to climate regulation by keeping the planet cool, absorbing the floodwater and storing carbon. Additionally, they provide recreational and economic opportunities, attracting tourism, fishing, and other activities that support local communities. Lakes are affected by a combination of overuse, pollution and climate change. Lake pollution is frequently caused by inflows from fertilizers, contaminants and solid waste being dumped directly, or flushed into lakes via rivers, and this is worsened by global warming – leading, for instance, to more frequent and intense floods. The water levels of lakes are also changing dramatically. Rising temperatures and changes to cloud cover, which are leading to decreasing ice cover, are increasing the rate of water evaporation. Which action can be taken to safeguard these vital freshwater. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #worldlakeday, #lakemanagement, #naturallakes, #artificiallakes, #27August, #GenerationRestoration.

EVENTS: We need to act now. This World Lake Day 2025, let's be aware of the problem lakes are facing and protect them today for a sustaining life tomorrow. The United Nations General Assembly Invites all States Members of the United Nations, members of the specialized agencies and observers of the General Assembly, as well as the organizations of the United Nations system, other international, regional and subregional organizations and other relevant stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector and academia, to observe World Lake Day in an appropriate manner through activities aimed at education and awareness-raising of the importance of lakes and preserving, conserving, restoring and sustainably managing lake and related ecosystems. Join UNEP and partners in the mission to conserve, protect, and restore them to their former glory! Register to participate!

Statement of Inger Andersen; Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on World Lake Day 2025; August 27th.


When you think of water, you might picture rivers rushing to the sea or waves crashing on a tropical shore. But the quiet giants of our freshwater systems – lakes – hold 90 per cent of the planet’s surface fresh water. They are life-support systems for millions, providing drinking water, irrigation, food and recreation. They shelter biodiversity, regulate climate and buffer communities against floods and droughts. Yet, like many freshwater ecosystems, lakes are often overlooked in global discussions on water solutions.

From the Great Lakes of Africa to the mountain reservoirs of Asia, lakes sustain billions of lives. They store water, moderate temperature, support fisheries and underpin agriculture. They are also biodiversity havens for countless species.

But lake ecosystems are fragile. Today, they are being put under increasing pressure from climate change, pollution and unsustainable land use. Evaporation rates are rising as global temperatures climb. Nutrient runoff from agriculture fuels algae blooms, turning once-clear waters into oxygen-starved dead zones. Water abstraction for farms and cities shrinks lakes, while invasive species disrupt ecological balance.

A recent analysis by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) revealed a stark figure. Surface water bodies, such as lakes, are shrinking or being lost entirely in 364 basins worldwide. The degradation of lakes is not just an environmental threat; it also affects communities that rely on them for survival.

Indonesia is leading the fight to protect lakes. Since championing the first-ever United Nations Environment Assembly resolution on Sustainable Lake Management in 2022, the country has helped place lakes at the centre of global water discussions, including during the United Nations 2023 Water Conference and the tenth World Water Forum, in which lakes featured prominently in the Ministerial Declaration.

With the recent adoption of the United Nations System-wide Strategy on Water and Sanitation, the stage is set for even greater cooperative action. But why this urgency? Because lakes are under siege.

To understand the fate of lakes, we need to zoom out to the global hydrological cycle – the invisible thread linking glaciers, rivers, wetlands, aquifers and seas. Glaciers, often called “water towers of the world”, feed many of the planet’s lakes and rivers. Nearly 1.9 billion people depend on these frozen reserves for drinking water, irrigation and hydropower.

But climate change is melting glaciers at unprecedented rates. Recognizing this, 2025 marks the United Nations International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. The year 2024 was the warmest year on record, and in 2023 alone, glaciers lost more than 600 gigatons of ice – the greatest loss in five decades. As they retreat, a new phenomenon is reshaping mountain landscapes: the explosive growth of glacial lakes. These lakes can be both lifelines and risks. They store meltwater, acting as buffers during drought. But they also pose catastrophic risks through glacial lake outburst floods, which can devastate entire valleys.

Despite their importance, lakes remain among the least monitored water bodies on Earth. Unlike rivers, which often have established gauging stations, lakes are poorly studied, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

UNEP is working to change this. Through tools and initiatives such as the Freshwater Ecosystems Explorer, the UNEP lakes portal, the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and integrated water resources management frameworks, efforts are underway to close data gaps and improve policies, plans and approaches. But we need to scale up, and scale up fast.

UNEP launched a landmark, transboundary initiative in the Lake Tanganyika Basin that works across Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia to protect biodiversity, restore critical wetlands and degraded landscapes, support sustainable fisheries management and enhance water security. It will rehabilitate 1,700 hectares of ecosystems and foster catchment-wide governance through community engagement and basin-level monitoring, all underpinned by the commitment of UNEP to integrated water resource management.

Lakes may seem remote, but their health determines our own. They are essential parts of the global hydrological cycle – a topic that is on the table for discussion at the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, to be held in December 2025. Like other freshwater ecosystems, lakes are important buffers against drought, engines of local economies and cradles of biodiversity. They are also sentinels, warning us of the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis.

Protecting freshwater ecosystems like lakes is not optional. It is central to biodiversity, water, energy and food security, and offers climate resilience.

Member States, guided by the leadership of Indonesia, must adopt an integrated water resources management approach to enhance lake protection and restoration. Greater investments in infrastructure, data and innovative solutions are crucial to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 – clean water and sanitation for all – and ensure long-term sustainability for both human and ecosystem needs.

Now, the challenge is global: to safeguard these blue jewels. Not just for their beauty, but for the billions who depend on them. Because when lakes thrive, life flows everywhere.

Inger Andersen; Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

PUBLICATION: Dive into the Healthy and Productive Lakes Portal. Learn about the diversity of lake ecosystems, explore their vital role in human development and planetary health, uncover the threats they face, and access tools and resources.

International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2025, August 23rd.

FORUM: "Deepening our understanding of major historical events can help foster greater respect and tolerance." International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2025. It's crucial to educate and inform current and future generations about the causes, consequences and lessons of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Let’s show that applied knowledge of the antislavery past offers a way to ‘care for the future’. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #August23, #RememberSlavery.

EVENTS: Commemoration of the 28th edition of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

At UN Headquarters; The ceremony to mark the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23rd will provide an inclusive space for all people to remember the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, reflect on its legacy, honour freedom fighters and look forward to transforming the legacy of racism through progressive education. We thanks the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and African Group Member States for their sustained commitment to this annual remembrance.

At UNESCO HQ, On Saturday’s August 23rd, #RememberSlavery Day, the UNESCO will held a webinar. The participants will have the opportunity to reflect on one of the darkest chapters in human history and learn from it. Register to participate!

In the UNITED KINGDON; On Thursday 21 August, City Hall hosted its annual event to mark UNESCO’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Abolition. The commemoration brought together Londoners, community leaders and artists to reflect on the impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and celebrate the resilience of African and Caribbean heritage communities. The event was chaired by BBC broadcaster Eddie Nestor MBE and featured a keynote address from Dr Denise E Noble, a Black Studies scholar and author. Reflections were also shared by members of City Hall’s Community Advisory Group: including Arthur Torrington CBE, founder of the Windrush Foundation; academic and author, Dr Javeria Khadija Shah; and fashion designer and entrepreneur, Lucy Isaiah. The programme also included performances of music, poetry and dance by African and Caribbean artists. This year’s theme, We Rise: Remembering the Past, Reimagining the Future, focused on the continued need to tackle racism and inequality, while amplifying the voices and histories of Londoners whose ancestors were affected by the slave trade.

trade-remembrance-day

International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief 2025; August 22nd.

FORUM: "Building a world where religious diversity is celebrated and where everyone can live in safety and dignity.” International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief 2025. Around the world, individuals and communities face violence based on religion or beliefs. We must urgently combat this scourge. It is crucial to avoid generalizations about entire religions or religious groups based on the actions of a few individuals or extremist groups. It is also important to understand the specific context and motivations behind acts of violence for addressing the root causes and preventing future incidents. Promoting interfaith dialogue, tolerance, and respect for religious diversity is crucial for fostering peaceful coexistence. Governments must protect all people and places of worship, implement comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, and invest in education initiatives that foster inclusion and equal rights. Digital platforms must enforce content moderation policies that align with international human rights standards. Political and religious leaders must unequivocally condemn hate speech, advance dialogue, and make clear that violence can never be an answer. We must work together to stem the tide of hatred and promote tolerance, mutual understanding and respect.This year’s offers the opportunity to make visible the multiple, daily and egregious violence that takes place based on religion or belief, and to seek to respond to its root causes, urgently and with far greater determination. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #22August, #Religiousviolence, #CounterViolentExtremism, #ForSafeWorship, #AgainstReligiousViolence.

EVENTS: On August 22nd; A webinar to mark the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief 2025 will be held at UNHQ in New york. Religious or other ideologies and beliefs can never be evoked to justify attacks against life, human dignity and rights, and in no circumstances should be used for suppressing critical and dissenting opinions and views, and undermining rule of law, peace and the democratic principles, as has been reiterated by the United Nations experts. The topics of the panel discussion will focus on Freedom of religion or belief and gender equality; the Religion and freedom of religion or belief literacy and the Antisemitism. Register to participate!

Message of the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres on the International Day to commemorate victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief 2025.

Across the globe, people continue to be harassed, attacked – and even killed – simply for what they believe.

Places of worship are desecrated. Communities are terrorized. Online platforms are flooded with hate.

These acts are not only abhorrent – they are a threat to our shared humanity.

When people are targeted for their faith, when hate speech goes unchecked, when impunity prevails – everyone is at risk.

We must confront this threat head-on.

Governments must adopt and enforce strong anti-discrimination laws – and invest in education that fosters respect, inclusion and human rights for all.

Political, religious and community leaders must reject divisive tactics and champion dialogue within and across communities.

And digital platforms must step up and incorporate safeguards to avoid becoming megaphones of hate.

On this International Day, we remember the victims and recommit to action.

Let us stand together to build a world where diversity is celebrated and everyone can live in safety and dignity.

António Guterres.

International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism 2025; August 21st.

FORUM: “United by Hope: Collective Action for Victims of Terrorism.” International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism 2025.The Day is both a tribute and a call to action, honoring victims’ resilience and leadership, while reaffirming our shared responsibility to uphold their rights. Only through sustained collaboration can we build truly inclusive, victim-centered responses to terrorism. United by hope, we can make a lasting impact. Together, victims are transforming grief into purpose, building a global movement that demands inclusion, recognition, and lasting peace.The 2025 theme, inspired by members of the Victims of Terrorism Associations Network (VoTAN), emphasizes the hope that emerges when victims come together to transform pain into purpose. United across regions, cultures, and experiences, victims and survivors are offering mutual support, amplifying one another’s voices, and driving collective action to raise awareness, influence policy, and ensure their rights and needs are placed at the center of counter-terrorism efforts. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #UNCCT, #VictimsofTerrorism, #21August, #FindingHope, #BuildingaPeacefulFuture, #UNiteforVictimsofTerrorism.

EVENTS: On August 21st, at 10:00 am EDT, at UN Headquarters, a high-level event will be held, organized by members of the Victims of Terrorism Associations Network (VoTAN), the event aims to emphasize the hope that emerges when victims come together to transform pain into purpose. To mark the eighth International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, the United Nations will organize a pre-recorded high-level virtual event titled “United by Hope: Collective Action for Victims of Terrorism.” The High-Level Segment will feature the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres keynote message followed by opening remarks from the Under-Secretary-General for the Office of Counter-Terrorism, Vladimir Voronkov. The segment will also include a statement by the Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism, the screening of the Victims of Terrorism Association Network (VoTAN) film, and a Global Minute of Silence honouring victims worldwide. Following the high-level segment, a virtual panel discussion will gather victims and survivors of terrorism from diverse regional and personal backgrounds to explore how survivor leadership, peer-to-peer collaboration, and joint advocacy can strengthen global efforts to uphold victims’ rights and build more inclusive, resilient societies. Get the concept note and agenda programme and Register to participate!

Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism 2025; August 21st.

On this solemn day, we honour the victims and survivors of terrorism everywhere – saluting their courage, acknowledging their pain, and reaffirming our enduring commitment to peace, justice, and human rights.

This year’s theme, “United by Hope,” reflects the strength of victims coming together to turn suffering into solidarity, and anguish into action.

Victims of terrorism are showing the way: supporting one another, speaking out, and championing the rights of all those affected.

I welcome the launch of the Victims of Terrorism Associations Network – supported by the United Nations – which fosters partnership, amplifies victims’ voices, and empowers them to shape decisions that affect their lives.

Governments, civil society, and the international community must match their courage – by upholding victims’ rights, delivering justice, and standing with them at every step of their healing journey.

United by hope, we can build a future free from terrorism, where all people live in dignity and without fear.

 United Nations Secretary-General.

 Statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism on the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism 2025, 

“One of the many ways people fall victim to terrorism is through the traumatic experiences of being forced to flee from their homes. Violence, forced recruitment, abduction and enslavement of women and girls, threats and extortion by terrorist groups can compel people to seek safety elsewhere in a country or even across borders.Displacement often occurs in fragile, conflict-affected and low-income States who have limited capacity to prevent it or provide humanitarian assistance and solutions to the victims.

Displacement has cascading impacts on human rights. While it may improve physical safety – though this is not always the case – it separates people from their homes, livelihoods, schools, health care, support networks and even family members.

Over the past year, I have met with many victims of forced displacement in Somalia, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin and heard about their struggles to rebuild safe and dignified lives. Some had experienced repeated cycles of displacement, including due to forced evictions, disasters, and violence. Forced displacement has also occurred elsewhere in West Africa and in the Sahel, including Nigeria, as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The legacy of forced displacement is still raw after recent conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. Tens of thousands of displaced people, mainly women and children, remain detained in North-East Syria. Over half of the 2.1 million displaced people who have recently returned to Afghanistan were forced to leave by Iran and Pakistan, where they had earlier sought refuge without other countries sharing responsibility for them.

People are forced to move not only because of terrorist threats, but also due to security operations by States while countering terrorism and the climate of insecurity during armed conflicts. International humanitarian law exceptionally allows the temporary displacement of civilians to ensure their safety or for imperative security reasons. Regrettably, some States have forcibly displaced civilians as an illegal tactic of war, including Israel in Gaza. Such forced displacements can also constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity and may even be an instrument of ethnic cleansing.

Counter-terrorism campaigns can also escalate into wider conflicts resulting in displacement. Recent examples include the hostilities between India and Pakistan after India responded to a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, and Israel’s targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities partly under the guise of preventing terrorism.

The UN Model Legislative Provisions to Support the Needs and Protect the Rights of Victims of Terrorism emphasize the need to equally recognize the victims of terrorism as well as of State human rights violations while countering terrorism.

In country visits, I found that internally displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers often face serious difficulties in accessing clean water, adequate food, decent shelter, quality schooling, livelihood opportunities, and land for cultivation or livestock. Many reported receiving little outside assistance and some lacked the documents necessary to exercise their legal rights.

Accessing healthcare is particularly challenging, with people being forced to borrow money to pay for their children’s treatment. There were significant unmet needs for the treatment of people traumatized by violence, including unacknowledged sexual and gender-based violence. Displacement also increases vulnerability to sexual violence, particularly for women and girls.

It was distressing to witness “lost generations” of children deprived of even basic education, seriously impeding their life opportunities and freedoms, and aggravating the risk of terrorist recruitment.

Some communities faced stigmatization and discrimination, including unfounded suspicions of associating with terrorists. Journalists reporting on conflicts, and human rights defenders, have also been threatened by terrorist groups and intimidated and arbitrarily detained by authorities as terrorist sympathizers.

Local communities reported being under stress from hosting displaced people, given population pressures, resource competition, and scarcity of public services. Host communities need to be adequately supported alongside displaced people.

Governments in low-income countries often make considerable efforts to support displaced people, including generously hosting refugees, aided by international humanitarian organizations and donor countries.

Many displaced people still reported receiving little outside assistance. The alarming global cuts to foreign aid, coupled with the United Nations liquidity crisis, are seriously undermining efforts to assist them. In Somalia, among the world’s least developed countries, aid cuts recently forced the country’s few rape crisis centres to close, excluding victims of conflict-related violence from this vital service.

I call on donor countries not to turn away from the victims of terrorism and counter-terrorism in their hour of greatest need.

Governments must also fulfil their responsibilities towards displaced persons in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, including in relation to the prevention of displacement, assistance during displacement, and assistance during return, resettlement and reintegration. The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (known as Kampala Convention) should also be fully implemented.

Finally, the past year has seen an alarming resort to counter-terrorism pretexts to summarily expel foreign nationals, including asylum seekers, in breach of the duty of non-refoulement and the prohibition on arbitrary expulsion. In the United States, this has been carried out through the improper listing of organized criminal groups as “terrorist organizations” and abusively invoking war-time expulsion powers. Mass expulsions from neighbouring countries to Afghanistan were also partly based on unfounded security grounds.

Today, on the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism, I urge all States to recommit to the protection of human rights affected by terrorism and counter-terrorism, in line with the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The international community must redouble efforts to assist displaced people, particularly in low-income, conflict-affected States, as among the most disadvantaged and marginalized of all victims.”

Mr. Ben Saul,UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

LIVESTREAM: 2025 Commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism (21 August).

This year will mark the eighth commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism. Amid the multiplicity of violent conflicts and terrorist attacks worldwide, this day continues to honour victims and survivors of terrorism, ensure their voices are elevated, raise awareness and highlight global solidarity. By amplifying the voices and experiences of victims, the International Day seeks to inspire collective action and empower individuals and communities to work towards a future defined by peace, solidarity, and resilience. This year's theme "United by Hope: Collective Action for Victims of Terrorism", is inspired by members of the Victims of Terrorism Associations Network (VoTAN) and emphasizes the hope that emerges when victims come together to transform pain into purpose. United by shared experiences across regions, cultures, and communities, victims and victims' associations are leading the way; offering mutual support, amplifying each other's voices, and advancing collective action that drives change for communities, countries, and at the international level.

World Humanitarian Day 2025; August 19th.

FORUM:" #ActForHumanity.'' World Humanitarian Day 2025. A bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello on 19 August 2003. Five years later, the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating August 19th as World Humanitarian Day (WHD). Since then, WHD has become OCHA's annual flagship campaign. Each year, WHD focuses on a theme, bringing together partners from across the humanitarian system to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises, and for the safety and security of aid workers.This year, we call for an end to the attacks on humanitarians and civilians and impunity under International Humanitarian Law. We urge those in power to Act For Humanity. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #ActForHumanity, #WorldHumanitarianDay, #august19, #safetyandsecurity, #reliefworkers, #aidworkers, #humanitarians.

EVENTS:  On August 19th, the Annual observance of World Humanitarian Day 2025 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. Last year on WHD, we demanded protection for humanitarians in conflict zones. Resolutions were passed, promises were made. But nothing changed on the ground. The rules and the tools exist. Security Council resolution 2730 sets a path. A major political declaration is on the way. What we need now is the will – and the courage – from all with power or influence to #ActForHumanity.

 

Watch the World Humanitarian Day 2025 - UN Geneva Commemoration!

Meetings & Events

Wreath-laying by Mr. Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Operational Support (accompanied by survivors of that bombing).

Watch the Wreath-laying ceremony to honour colleagues who lost their lives at the Canal Hotel, Baghdad!

Message of the United Nations Secretary-General for World Humanitarian Day 2025.


Humanitarian workers are the last lifeline for over 300 million people caught in conflict or disaster.

Yet, funding for that lifeline is drying up.

And those who provide humanitarian aid are increasingly under attack.

Last year, at least 390 aid workers - a record high - were killed across the world.

From Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar and beyond.

International law is clear: humanitarians must be respected and protected. They can never be targeted.

This rule is non-negotiable and is binding on all parties to conflict, always and everywhere.

Yet red lines are crossed with impunity.

Governments have pledged action – and the Security Council has laid out a path to protect humanitarians and their lifesaving work.

The rules and tools exist. What is missing is political will – and moral courage.

On this World Humanitarian Day, let’s honour the fallen with action:

To protect every aid worker – and invest in their safety.

To stop the lies that cost lives.

To strengthen accountability and bring perpetrators to justice.

To end arms flows to parties that violate international law.

Together, let us say in one voice: An attack on humanitarians is an attack on humanity.

And let’s #ActForHumanity

Secretary-General António Guterres.

Remarks by Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the World Humanitarian Day 2025 Commemoration Ceremony.

Dear survivors, families – especially the families – Excellencies and colleagues:

We are here to grieve and honour those we have lost. They are the best of us.

Humanitarians carry hope where there is despair.

They are selfless in a selfish world. They seek to mend what others seek to break. They bring humanity where there is inhumanity.

Yet from that day in Baghdad till now, the best of us are under attack.

Last year, more than 380 humanitarians were killed – not dead, killed – the highest ever recorded. Hundreds more wounded, kidnapped, detained.

In Gaza, 520 aid workers – mostly UNRWA staff – killed since October 2023, the deadliest place for humanitarians for the second year running. This number doesn’t even touch the hundreds of staff who have lost family members, like my colleague Saed Al Ghamri, whose wife Ola was killed in our guesthouse.

In Sudan, 60 colleagues lost their lives – over double the year before. These include my colleague Sadig [Andosa], killed in El Fasher in November.

Already this year, hundreds more names. Each a family, each with a story.

This is more than a statistical spike. It is a stain – the normalization of violence against this community. Each attack on a colleague is an attack on all of us and we do not accept it. Enough.

Zero accountability, an indictment of international inaction and apathy. The Member States must not accept it. Enough.

As a humanitarian movement, we demand the protection of civilians and aid workers and we demand that perpetrators are held to account.

Humanitarians will not retreat, despite these dangers.

Last year, despite the risks, we reached more than 116 million people. Families fed, children in school, sick people cured, communities protected. We will not let down those we serve. It is our way of honouring those who died in 2003 and who have been killed since. But you, the international community, must also not let us down.

So, we grieve again those we’ve lost, and those we’ll continue to lose. We honour those who defy the dangers. We demand their protection and an end to impunity. And we commit afresh to this mission, whatever the risks.

Thank you.

Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Remarks by Mr. Ramesh Rajasingham, Head and Representative of OCHA Geneva and Director of the Coordination Division  at the commemoration service for fallen humanitarian workers on World Humanitarian Day 2025.


Survivors, families, Excellencies, colleagues:

I would like to express here my appreciation to Australia and Ambassador Walsh for this initiative and for the important leadership and support you have brought to the protection of aid workers.

19 August is always a hard day. I remember exactly where I was in 2003 when I heard about the bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad. That day, 22 humanitarians were killed, including my former boss, Sergio Vieira de Mello. It was a wound to the humanitarian community that has never healed.

Every year since, on World Humanitarian Day, we gather to honour those we have lost – and to stand with those who continue bringing hope to the world’s hardest and most dangerous places.

But remembrance is not enough. Because today is not only about looking back. It is about confronting a present reality that is unacceptable.

Last year alone, 383 humanitarians were killed – another record. Hundreds more were wounded, kidnapped, or detained. Already this year, the toll is rising again.

We lost 181 colleagues in Gaza – many from UNRWA – who kept classrooms open and food lines running even as the very schools and shelters where they worked were bombed.

We lost 60 colleagues in Sudan, more than double the year before – killed as they tried to deliver medicine, food, and water to those in desperate need.

These are not just statistics. These are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters. Friends, mentors, teammates. They had names. They had families waiting for them at home. And, for the vast majority of them – home was in the same country where they were killed. They are among the thousands of local staff of UN agencies and NGOs who carry the biggest risk, pay the highest prize, yet whose names often go unheard.

These events are not recent. I remember a close colleague and friend who was pulled out of his Landcruiser and executed by armed men. But, what was a rare event in that period, has now become a weekly occurrence and humanitarian innocence is all but lost.

Let us be clear: these attacks are often not accidents of war. Many are deliberate acts. And they continue because the world allows them to continue. Impunity is pervasive. Our calls for justice are too often met with silence, or, even worse, accusations of culpability.

Last year the Security Council passed Resolution 2730, reaffirming the duty to protect humanitarian personnel and hold perpetrators to account. But resolutions mean little if no one enforces them. Words do not save lives. Silence does not protect aid workers. Action does.

That is why remembrance is only a part of our duty today. The other major part is demand. Demand for protection. Demand for accountability. Demand for change. Because the killing of aid workers is not an unfortunate side-effect of war. It is an outrage. It is an attack on humanity itself.

And it isn’t only the bullets and bombs. Humanitarians are being strangled by bureaucratic blockades, by relentless underfunding, by smear campaigns that spread lies and hatred online. Their families scroll through social media and see them vilified for the very work that keeps others alive.

Yet despite it all, humanitarians continue to step forward. Last year, more than 116 million people received aid because colleagues refused to give up. Children had classrooms. Families had food on the table. Displaced communities had shelter and clean water.

This is what humanitarianism means. Not a slogan, not an abstract principle – but lives saved, hope restored, dignity defended.

So today, as we remember those we have lost, let us also honour those still carrying hope. And let us not leave this place without a pledge.

The campaign we relaunch today – #ActForHumanity – is not a hashtag. It is a demand. A demand for protection. For accountability. For action.

To our colleagues in Gaza, in Sudan, in every crisis where humanitarians are risking their lives: we see you. We grieve with you. We stand with you. And we will fight for your protection.

To the families of those who never came home: we cannot fill the space they leave behind. But we can promise this – their names will not be forgotten, and their sacrifice was never in vain.

Because violence against humanitarians is not inevitable. It is a choice – a choice made by people. And together, we must make a different choice. A choice to defend humanity. A choice to end impunity. A choice to act.

Thank you.

Mr. Ramesh Rajasingham.

Remarks by the Executive-Director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on World Humanitarian Day 2025.

On World Humanitarian Day, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) joins United Nations agencies and humanitarian organizations in calling for the urgent protection of aid workers and an end to the rising violence against them worldwide. IOM is urging stronger, coordinated, and decisive political action from Member States to halt this alarming trend.

“International humanitarian law explicitly protects humanitarian workers, yet attacks continue with impunity. We see this play out everywhere: convoys attacked, facilities damaged, and aid corridors cut off or rendered unsafe,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “When humanitarians are silenced, it’s the people in greatest need who are left without life-saving support. We need to see urgent political will and real accountability to stop these indefensible attacks.”

This year’s World Humanitarian Day comes as the cost for those delivering aid reaches devastating levels. In 2024, attacks killed 383 humanitarian workers, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In 2025, as of August 15, 265 humanitarian workers have been killed, with at least 202 more wounded, kidnapped, detained or arrested. At the current rate, 2025 is on track to becoming one of the deadliest years on record.

The rise in attacks is unfolding against a backdrop of growing displacement and escalating needs that have left millions dependent on humanitarian assistance. By the end of 2024, conflict and violence had forced 73.5 million people from their homes, according to the 2025 Global Report on Internal Displacement.

IOM and other humanitarian actors are often the first to respond in high-risk environments, and international humanitarian law requires the protection of both civilians and those who deliver life-saving assistance. IOM joins the United Nations and humanitarian partners in calling on all states to use their influence to prevent and end these violations.

"Humanitarians risk their lives every day to help people in need. On World Humanitarian Day, let's honor their service and sacrifice by doing more to protect them now and in the future,” DG Pope said.

Miss Pope, Director at IOM.

Statement by UN Women on World Humanitarian Day 2025.

On this World Humanitarian Day, we honour every humanitarian who risks and -- all too often -- loses their life to help others. We honour the women leaders and local responders who stand on the frontlines, often facing double peril: targeted for the work they do, and for who they are. We pay tribute to those killed, and salute those who keep showing up in the face of danger.

This year’s call to #ActForHumanity is more urgent than ever. The humanitarian landscape is collapsing under escalating violence, dwindling resources, and broken promises of protection.

The past year marked a devastating chapter for humanitarian workers, with more lives lost than ever before and attacks surging significantly. These deaths are not accidents. They stem from systemic failures: impunity for those who break the rules of war, eroded respect for humanitarian principles, and a growing disregard for international humanitarian law.

The violence is compounded by unprecedented funding shortfalls. As at 12 August, only about 18 per cent of the Global Humanitarian Overview’s requirements have been met. Cuts to women responders are severe: a 2025 UN Women survey found that in 44 crisis settings, 72 per cent have laid off staff and over half have suspended programmes. This loss of capacity strips away essential services, increases violence against women, burdens them with heavier unpaid care work, and removes social protections that could prevent harm.

We cannot allow this to be normalized. We call on leaders to act, decisively, now to: Protect humanitarian workers – including women on the frontlines who face targeted violence – and the civilians they serve.
Fund the lifeline that sustains lives – ensuring resources reach women-led and local organizations that are often first to respond and last to leave.
Guarantee the full participation and leadership of women in humanitarian decision-making, recognizing their essential role in effective, inclusive response.

Act now. The world is watching. #ActForHumanity.

UN Women Americas and Caribbean.

Statement by Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director, on World Humanitarian Day 2025.

On World Humanitarian Day, we pay tribute to the humanitarian workers who risk their lives everyday to deliver for people caught in crises around the world.


Their courage, compassion and unwavering commitment in the face of adversity embodies the very best of humanity.

Their work could not be more important, now more than ever.

When crises happen, UNOPS helps partners identify and address urgent needs, and helps communities recover and build resilience.


We live at a time of growing humanitarian needs: Our world is more violent now than at any time since the second world war. The climate crisis is wreaking havoc and natural disasters are becoming more intense, longer and more frequent.

And yet 2024 has been the deadliest year on record for humanitarians around the world.

In Gaza, Sudan, and many other places, humanitarian workers are increasingly caught in the crossfire, suffering injuries, abductions, and deaths, just as the people they are there to help.

The deliberate targeting of humanitarian personnel is a violation of international law.

Over the past two years, two of our UNOPS colleagues have been killed in Gaza. Our premises in Gaza have come under attack, at least twice.

We honor the memories of our colleagues and other fallen humanitarians.

We demand an end to attacks on humanitarians and on all civilians. Perpetrators must be held to account.

And we call on everyone to do more to protect and safeguard our common humanity.

To all humanitarian workers — thank you for your strength, dedication, and hope.

We salute you.

And we vow to continue your efforts, to help deliver life-saving assistance and bring dignity and hope to vulnerable communities.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director.

PUBLICATIONS: 

United Nations Secretary General’s Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
provided by the UN Publication. Learn more


2025 Aid Worker Security Report provided by the Humanitarian Outcomes. Learn more


Rapid support for aid workers at risk provided by the Protect Aid Workers. Learn more

CALL TO ACTION:

When protection is denied and accountability is absent, our voices and actions must fill the void. Aid workers keep going into danger, through checkpoints, under fire. They show up. So must we.

• Use your voice: Every post, tag and conversation build pressure for protection. Share, speak out and demand action using #ActForHumanity.
• Fund the lifeline: Humanitarians can’t deliver without safety or support. Help keep aid flowing and protect aid workers – especially local responders.
• Mobilize: Across cities, campuses and communities; people are taking a stand. Show leaders the world is watching.
• Create with purpose: Artists, storytellers, influencers – use your art, platforms and brands to stir emotion and inspire action. Make this message impossible to ignore.