The World Humanitarian Day, 19 August, honors those who work to help others, often with their lives at stake. This year, the UN highlight the immediate human cost of the climate crisis by pressuring world leaders to take meaningful climate actions for the world’s most vulnerable people.
On 19 August 2003, 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. Five years later, the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day.
Humanitarian aid is based on four fundamental principles – humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. The day is an opportunity to pay special attention to situations and people in need of humanitarian aid and also remembering those who have been injured or lost their lives while helping others in need.
The most vulnerable and the climate crisis
This year’s theme for World Humanitarian Day highlights the immediate human cost of the climate crisis by pressuring world leaders to take meaningful climate action for the world’s most vulnerable people.
The climate emergency is wreaking havoc across the world at a scale that the humanitarian community and people at the front lines cannot manage.
Time is already running out for millions of the world’s most vulnerable people – those who have contributed least to the global climate emergency but are hit the hardest. Millions of people are already losing their homes, their livelihoods and their lives.
#TheHumanRace
In the week of World Humanitarian Day, August 19, to get the world racing against the climate crisis clock, the UN will stage a global race challenge like no other.
The challenge will be hosted on Strava, the world’s leading exercise platform. Whether participants run, roll, ride, walk, swim, kick or hit a ball, each action will count towards helping us carry our message to world leaders when they meet at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November.
Everyone is invited to join #TheHumanRace, which is the global challenge for climate action in solidarity with people who need it the most; and to put the needs of climate-vulnerable people front and center at the UN climate summit (COP26).
Watch the video message by Secretary-General António Guterres on World Humanitarian Day below:
