World
World Humanitarian Day: UN Honors Sacrifices, Celebrates Spirit of Aid Workers
(United Nations) – The United Nations is marking World Humanitarian Day today by paying tribute to aid workers who carry out life-saving activities around the world, often in dangerous and difficult circumstances, while celebrating the spirit of humanitarian work worldwide.
“On World Humanitarian Day, we honour the heroic aid workers who rush bravely to help people in need. We remember their sacrifices, and we recognize the millions of people who count on humanitarian workers for their very survival,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day.
The Day is observed annually on 19 August, the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad that killed 22 people, including UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. Among today’s events is a wreath-laying ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York to honour aid workers killed in the line of duty.