MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) - The international community is preparing to celebrate World Humanitarian Day on Tuesday, August 19, in honor of humanitarian aid workers worldwide.
The date was specified in UN General Assembly Resolution No. 63/139 in 2008; the event’s organizers hope to boost public awareness of humanitarian aid across the world and the importance of international cooperation in this sphere.
On World Humanitarian Day, the international community honors 22 people, including UN Special Representative Secretary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello, who were killed in a terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad on August 19, 2003.
Every year on this day since 2010, the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation, established by his relatives and colleagues, has presented awards which are named in Sergio’s honor to individuals, organizations and communities for their outstanding contribution to the peaceful settlement of conflicts.
On the previous World Humanitarian Day in 2013, the World Health Organization presented a special report, “Building Back Better: Sustainable Mental Health Care after Emergencies.” The report provides guidance for improving mental health services following emergency situations and cites, as examples, appropriate courses of action which have been taken by some countries in this context.
The year's theme is, “The World Needs More...” Anyone can take part in the massive campaign, which is being coordinated by the UN, and visit http://worldhumanitarianday.org/ to offer their interpretation of the slogan.
On July 31, 2014, a new online community, Messengers of Humanity, launched its own activities to mark World Humanitarian Day. Through this initiative, members of the public can have the opportunity to contribute to the relief aid that people around the world need.
According to the 2013 Aid Worker Security Report, which was released by Humanitarian Outcomes group, in 2012 more than 270 humanitarian aid workers were killed, kidnapped or seriously hurt while performing their duties.
