The European Commission is marking Thursday the second-ever World Humanitarian Day by paying tribute to the life-saving effort carried out by aid workers around the globe.

The campaign aims at attracting attention to the safety and security of humanitarian workers and to the need of adherence to the humanitarian aid principles.

On December 11, 2008, the United Nations General Assembly of the United Nations adopted in its Plenary Session the Swedish sponsored Omnibus Resolution on “Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Humanitarian Assistance of the United Nations”, that carried the historic decision by the world body, to designate the 19th August as World Humanitarian Day to honor all humanitarian and the United Nations and associated personnel who have lost their lives in the cause of duty and those who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause. The Day was designated by the United Nations in the memory of UN humanitarian workers killed on 19 August, 2003 in Baghdad

To mark the Day and the start of the campaign, the EC had placed a huge banner on its building in Brussels. To the UN 2010 motto: “Don’t shoot, I am a humanitarian aid worker, the EU is sending its own message: “Europe – Committed to Protect Humanitarian Activities.”

The campaign aims at teaching the public and the institutions about the difficulties and dangers faced by humanitarian aid workers.

The Bulgarian EU Commissioner on International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, voiced deep gratitude towards all people who right now are helping the flood victims in Pakistan and appealed to others to value the safety and the life of humanitarian workers.

Georgieva pointed out UN data shows in 10 years the number of men and women who lost their lives during humanitarian aid actions is up 3 times – from 30 in 1999 to 102 in 2009.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!