Credit: MSF
World Humanitarian Day is being held on Wednesday 19 August 2020: various organisations - including CARE Luxembourg, Caritas Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Red Cross, Handicap International Luxembourg and Médecins Sans Frontières Luxembourg - are joining forces to underline how important respect for international humanitarian law is.
It is this respect that guarantees the safety of teams in the field, in areas that are often unstable and dangerous.
In 2020, more than 100 attacks on aid workers claimed 203 lives in 18 countries. The toll is heavy: 74 people were killed against 57 at the same time last year. More than nine out of ten victims are nationals of the countries of intervention.
CARE Luxembourg, Caritas Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Red Cross, Handicap International Luxembourg and Médecins Sans Frontières Luxembourg are involved in humanitarian aid throughout the world. The five organisations respect the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence in their assistance to victims of humanitarian disasters. Together, they have issued a joint statement:
"World Humanitarian Day is held on 19 August each year. It calls for support for people living in crisis situations and pays tribute to those who stand up for them and often risk their lives in the performance of their duties. Since its inception in 2008, the day has promoted the safety of aid workers, and consequently the survival, well-being and dignity of those they help.
Over the past twelve years, more than 4,000 aid workers have been killed, injured, detained, kidnapped or otherwise prevented from doing their work. That is over 300 cases per year, or almost one case per day.
As humanitarian organisations, we want to continue providing assistance in conflict or difficult contexts, but for that we need to work in safety. In order for the latter to be guaranteed or for the risks to be limited, all stakeholders must comply with international law and absolute respect for medical procedures, health infrastructures and the teams deployed on site.
A Luxembourg humanitarian charter that frames interventions
The interventions of Luxembourg humanitarian organisations abroad are framed by the Luxembourg Humanitarian Charter signed in 2016 with the Ministry of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action. It sets standards that aim to protect those who need it most.
Receiving and offering humanitarian assistance without any discrimination is indeed a fundamental principle that should benefit all citizens in need, regardless of the country. Humanitarian action is doing something that is neither partisan nor political. It is giving support to those who need it most without looking at the religion, ethnicity, gender or ideas of those being helped."
