UNHCR ARMENIA, 19 August 2016 – In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly designated 19 August as World Humanitarian Day in honor of the 22 colleagues who lost their lives in the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad five years earlier. It is also the day to remember the colleagues and friends who have lost their lives in the line of duty and to recognise the critical work that is being done by humanitarians to help millions of people in need around the world.
For UNHCR, 19 August is also our Staff Memorial Day. Recent years have seen attacks on aid workers reach unprecedented numbers. In 2015, a total of 148 incidents were recorded in 25 countries, affecting 287 aid workers. This represents a decrease from an all-time high of 475 victims reached in 2013, but sadly it remains part of a long-term upward trend toward increased violence against humanitarian workers.
World Humanitarian Day is also a day to acknowledge the extraordinary dedication and courage of humanitarian workers, who are confronted with adversity and danger while helping those in need. The humanitarian challenges we face today are greater than ever before as we work in increasingly complex security environments with an unprecedented number of displaced people. This past year, UNHCR staff members have suffered brutal attacks at the risk of their lives in Afghanistan, CAR, South Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Tanzania.
On the occasion of World Humanitarian Day the UNHCR Representative in Armenia, Mr. Christoph Bierwirth, thanked the humanitarian staff of all UNHCR project and operational partners in the country for their extraordinary work and high level of engagement, again demonstrated when addressing the displacement and other humanitarian challenges resulting from the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in early April 2016. Recalling this year’s theme of the World Humanitarian Day, “One Humanity”, he emphasised the imperative of all actors of conflict strictly adhering to globally accepted norms and principles: to international humanitarian and human rights law.
Mr. Bierwirth explained further: Humanitarian work is based on simple, clear and fundamental principles, namely:
– Humanity: Human suffering should be relieved wherever it is found. The inherent dignity and other human rights of individuals and groups must be respected and protected.
– Impartiality: Humanitarian assistance should be provided without discrimination. Relief must address the needs of all individuals and groups who are suffering, without regard to nationality, political or ideological beliefs, race, religion, gender or ethnicity. Needs assessments and relief activities should be geared toward priority for the most urgent cases.
– Neutrality: Humanitarian relief should be provided without bias towards or against one or more of the parties to the political, military, religious, ideological or ethnic controversy which has given rise to the suffering. Humanitarian actors must not allow themselves to become allied with any party to a conflict.
UNHCR PRESS RELEASE