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19-08-2025 | di COOPI
World Humanitarian Day. The call to defend operators and civilians
World Humanitarian Day, celebrated today, August 19, once again highlights the importance of acting for humanity (#actforhumanity) through a global campaign promoted by the United Nations, which is joined also by COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale, to call for the protection of humanitarian workers, respect for international law, and aid to civilian victims of conflict.
2024 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, with over 380 victims, a number that could be exceeded in 2025, according to data collected by the United Nations up to August. In this difficult situation, the organizations supporting the #ActForHumanity campaign are reaffirming the fundamental role of humanitarian workers in war zones and cooperation projects, calling for respect for their work, their lives, and international law.
According to United Nations have been killed 265 humanitarian workers as of August 14 2025
The message to act for humanity (#actforhumanity), already used last year, focuses in 2025 on the legal obligations of international humanitarian law, responsibilities and systemic shortcomings that allow violence against humanitarian workers and civilians to persist.
These episodes have become normalized and rarely make the news, while the work of aid workers—whose sole purpose is to save lives—is underfunded, overburdened, and under attack. Therefore, there is a need to protect them by respecting international law and defending humanitarian projects and the values that underpin them.
This is the call to be shared with #actforhumanity:
One year ago, the world urged leaders to end the killing of humanitarian workers.
They listened – then looked away.
2024 became the deadliest year on record; 2025 is on track to be worse.
We repeat this grim line every year – and fear it no longer shocks.
Killing aid workers has become normalized, rarely making headlines.
Their work – meant only to save lives – is underfunded, overstretched and under attack.
The promise of protection is broken:
Violations of international humanitarian law continue;
every red line crossed meets impunity, indifference and hypocrisy.
Yet humanitarians still head toward gunfire, checkpoints and danger.
They do not give up – and we must not give up on them.
This World Humanitarian Day we renew our call – louder, sharper, uncompromising:
Respect the rules of war.
Protect those who protect humanity.
End impunity – or stand condemned by history.
The world is watching.
#ActForHumanity – now.
World Humanitarian Day was established in 2008 to commemorate the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on August 19, 2003, in which many humanitarian workers lost their lives. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is leading the #ActForHumanity campaign to draw public attention to the importance of protecting humanitarian workers, an issue that is sometimes overlooked but has concrete effects. The appeal has been signed by organizations working in the humanitarian sector and the consortia that represent them, including—to mention those of which COOPI is a member—the European network Voice, composed of 93 NGOs, and the Link2007 network, which brings together 15 historic Italian NGOs.
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