A
record 130 million people are dependent on humanitarian assistance to
survive. Grouped together, these people
in need would comprise the tenth most populous nation on Earth.
These
figures are truly staggering, yet they tell only a fraction of the story. Hidden behind the statistics are individuals,
families and communities whose lives have been devastated. People no different to you and me: children,
women and men who face impossible choices every day. They are parents who must choose between
buying food or medicine for their children; children who must choose between
school or working to support their families; families who must risk bombing at
home or a perilous escape by sea.
The
solutions to the crises that have plunged these people into such desperate
hardship are neither simple nor quick.
But there are things we can all do – today, and every day. We can show compassion, we can raise our
voices against injustice, and we can work for change.
World
Humanitarian Day is an annual reminder of the need to act to alleviate the
suffering. It is also an occasion to
honour the humanitarian workers and volunteers toiling on the frontlines of
crises. I pay tribute to these dedicated
women and men who brave danger to help others at far greater risk.
Today,
I urge everyone to sign on to the United Nations “World You’d Rather”
campaign. As well as raising awareness
and building empathy, the campaign has a concrete goal: to raise money for the
UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund and to enrol the support of individuals
everywhere as Messengers of Humanity. We
need everybody to demand that their societies and governments put humanity
first.
Earlier
this year, 9,000 participants gathered in Istanbul for the first-ever World
Humanitarian Summit. World leaders
committed to transform the lives of people living in conflict, disaster and
acute vulnerability. They rallied behind
the Agenda for Humanity and its pledge to leave no one behind.
This
promise is also at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. With their focus on human rights, resilience
and poverty eradication, these 17 global goals offer a 15-year plan to reduce
needs and vulnerability and promote a world of peace, dignity and opportunity
for all. To succeed on this collective
journey, we need everyone to play their part.
Each one of us can make a difference.
On this World Humanitarian Day, let us unite in the name of humanity and
show that we cannot and will not leave any one behind.
