Published 17:25 IST, August 18th 2020
World Humanitarian Day 2020 theme, history, meaning and significance
World Humanitarian Day 2020: The international day is celebrated every year on August 19, 2020. Read on to know the theme, history, meaning and significance.
Advertisement
World Humanitarian Day is celebrated every year on August 19 across the world. The international day sheds lights on humanitarian personnel and people who have lost their lives in order to support various humanitarian causes. The day is designated by the United National General Assembly. Having said that, here is the World Humanitarian Day 2020 theme, history, meaning and significance.
World Humanitarian Day Theme 2020
Every year the United National General Assembly celebrates the international day with a new theme. The theme changes every passing year. For the year 2020, World Humanitarian Day sheds light around the pandemic crises.
Advertisement
According to the United Nations organization, ''Aid workers are overcoming unprecedented access hurdles to assist people in humanitarian crises in 54 countries, as well as in a further nine countries which have been catapulted into humanitarian need by the COVID-19 pandemic". It throws light on those who are affected by the pandemic crisis and pays tribute to the workers who have relentlessly been working to fight the virus.
Advertisement
World Humanitarian Day: Meaning and history
The day is the outcome of the works of the foundation started by Sérgio Vieira de Mello along with his family working with international ambassadors like France, Switzerland, Japan, and Brazil in Geneva and New York to steer the draft resolution via the United Nations General Assembly.
The UN established World Humanitarian Day to remind people of the death of Sergio Vieira de Mello and his co-humanitarians in a bombardment of Baghdad headquarters of the United Nations.
Advertisement
According to the United Nations, ''This day was designated in memory of the 19 August 2003 bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 22 people, including the chief humanitarian in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly formalized the day as World Humanitarian Day'.'
Advertisement
World Humanitarian Day: Significance and celebration
Humanitarians make up for a massive number of the crowd who put their lives at risk in order to support various other humanitarian causes and save other people. They are widely noted to be the ones who first respond to such world crises and be the last ones to leave. They are known for strengthening global humanitarian responses.
People across the world celebrate the day by creating awareness about the cause. People support various campaigns that help people affected by various humanitarian crises. Various private and other co-corporations sponsor various campaigns.
17:25 IST, August 18th 2020