World Humanitarian Day 2024
Today, August 19 marks theWorld Humanitarian Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the efforts of humanitarian workers in assisting populations affected by conflict, natural disasters and other crisis situations. The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008 to commemorate the anniversary of the attack on the UN headquarters in Badgad, Iraq, in 2003 that killed 22 people.
According to the UN Global Humanitarian Report, by 2024, nearly 300 million people worldwide will be in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. The causes are diverse, ranging from long-standing conflicts, such as the one in Sudan, the worsening hostilities in Palestine with worrying numbers of civilian deaths, or the climate emergency that is becoming increasingly acute, causing displacement and serious situations of food insecurity. Economic factors are also combined with conflicts, climatic catastrophes and outbreaks of infectious diseases, being one of the main points that increase the needs in crises such as Afghanistan, Syria or Venezuela.
At a time when so-called “donor fatigue” and dwindling resources are putting humanitarian operations at risk, global solidarity is needed more than ever. Looking ahead to 2023, for the first time since 2010, humanitarian funding will be down compared to the previous year. And that has an impact on the many populations affected by crises of all kinds. This is also affecting humanitarian organizations. The cases of Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee are some of the most recent examples of organizations forced to restructure due to budget shortfalls in line with the severe cuts made by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) the previous year. This consolidated trend is disturbing in a context of continued growth in global humanitarian needs.
In relation to humanitarian workers, Gaza, Sudan and South Sudan top the list of places with the highest number of casualties of humanitarian workers, showing a major challenge in these regions: in 2023, 95% of casualties were national workers compared to 5% of international staff. This highlights the importance of including local workers in security policies, both for the identification of risks and for the definition of action strategies.
Since its creation 24 years ago, the Institute for Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action (IECAH) has established in its mission the promotion of debate and research on humanitarian action, peace building and disaster risk reduction. With a vast experience in analysis, training and consultancy, the IECAH aims to contribute to the strengthening of responses to crises from the study, technical assistance and awareness in these areas.
Thus, on this August 19, we join the call of the United Nations to demand an end to attacks against humanitarian personnel and people served by humanitarian assistance, avoiding the normalization of attacks on civilians and impunity for violations of the rules established by international humanitarian law (IHL).
For more information:
