18 August 2023
This World Humanitarian Day, we mark the twentieth anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq. It is an opportunity to pay tribute to the 22 people killed and more than 100 people injured that day, as well as the thousands of humanitarian victims of attacks before and since that seismic event. It is a time to stand in solidarity with the families, friends and colleagues of all those affected. And it is a time to celebrate the work of all humanitarians who dedicate their careers to helping those in need, no matter who, no matter where, no matter what.
In the 20 years since the Canal Hotel bombing, the number of people who need humanitarian assistance across the world has grown dramatically, from 50 million people in 2003 to more than . As conflicts continue to rage, as climate change continues to bite, and as inequality and the cost of living continue to rise, these numbers look set to increase for the foreseeable future.
Year after year, the humanitarian community has risen to the challenge. Humanitarian operations have expanded, and more and more humanitarians have rallied to the cause. Even in the face of perennial underfunding for humanitarian operations, we are reaching more people in need than ever before.
But the humanitarian community is at full stretch, and the environments in which we operate remain challenging and often dangerous. Almost 7,000 aid workers have been the victims of attacks since 1997. In 2022 alone, , including 116 killed, 143 injured and 33 kidnapped.
These figures do not, of course, tell the whole story. They do not reflect the humanitarians killed or injured by natural disasters in the course of their work. They do not reflect the emotional and psychological toll of operating in dangerous and stressful environments, and of being repeatedly exposed to traumatic situations and the suffering of fellow humans. And they do not reflect the stress and frustration of constant struggles to access people in need.
Over the past year, I have had the great privilege of visiting a small number of the many places around the world where United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and its partners across the humanitarian community are doing such incredible work.
From Yemen to the Türkiye–Syria border, to Niger and Colombia, I have been dazzled by the formidable dedication, expertise, ingenuity and resilience of humanitarians and affected communities as they work together to alleviate suffering in the most demanding and dangerous circumstances.
During these visits, I heard time and time again from colleagues on the ground just how challenging and difficult this work can be: braving active conflict zones with warplanes flying overhead, bombs falling and bullets whizzing; dealing with multiple armed groups that have scant knowledge, if any, of the requirements of international humanitarian law; overcoming layer after layer of bureaucracy to enter a country and to secure the import of vital supplies; bearing witness to and supporting the harrowed survivors of gender-based violence, traumatic injury, acute hunger and many other forms of suffering; and being exposed to disease, illness and harsh living environments.
These stories, and some of the situations I witnessed, powerfully brought home to me the risks inherent in our work, the importance of supporting colleagues operating in these high-stakes environments, and the huge value of the knowledge and expertise of national and local staff and their networks.
And it confirmed what we have recognized at OCHA for a long time: that just as more effective humanitarian action requires us to put crisis-affected people at the centre of everything we do as humanitarians, we need to put our people at the centre of everything we do as organizations.
Our people are our foundation and our fundamental asset. It is their talent and dedication that enable the humanitarian community, even in the world’s most difficult and dangerous places, to perform our mission and deliver our mandate. Regardless of their role, or their contractual status or grade, and regardless of whether they are national or international staff, we have a duty to take care of their safety, security and well-being. We have a duty to demand that States and parties to conflict uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law not to attack humanitarians. Across the humanitarian world, our organizations need to be kind, respectful, diverse and inclusive. And we need to invest in our people to make sure they have access to the skills, learning and support that their talent and dedication deserve.
This World Humanitarian Day, as we reaffirm our commitment to helping people, no matter who, no matter where and no matter what, we also reaffirm our commitment to you—the people who make up our humanitarian community.
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