College of Law

August 19

A call to action (#ActForHumanity)

Dr. Ziad Abdul Wahab Al-Nuaimi

Faculty of Law/University of Mosul

Humanitarian action is important because of its consequences, especially for those who are affected, and what is provided to them by those who offer themselves for humanitarian relief. On August 19, 2003, an attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad killed 22 humanitarian workers, including the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years later, in 2008, the General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring August 19 as World Humanitarian Day.

In 2024 alone, more than 380 humanitarian workers lost their lives – some in the line of duty, others at home. Hundreds more have been injured, kidnapped or detained. There is every reason to fear that 2025 will be even more catastrophic.

The world often turns a blind eye to these violations, even when they are in flagrant breach of international law. Rules designed to protect aid workers are ignored, and perpetrators go unpunished. This silence, this lack of accountability, cannot be allowed to continue.

With this in mind, the international organization will use digital art to tell the stories of people in need and those who help them. The campaign also has a series of image files to introduce aid workers,

Humanitarian Action Day is a new day added to the international days in the United Nations Organization that expresses the love of goodness, extending a helping hand, solidarity with others, sharing the suffering and providing sufficient expertise in the humanitarian and practical fields to minimize the consequences of any humanitarian damage,

World Humanitarian Action Day.