{"id":30664,"date":"2017-08-17T16:01:51","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T16:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=30664"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:50:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:50:59","slug":"protecting-aid-workers-paramount-un-official-stresses-ahead-of-international-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2017\/08\/protecting-aid-workers-paramount-un-official-stresses-ahead-of-international-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting aid workers \u2018paramount,\u2019 UN official stresses ahead of International Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-overflow:visible;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last fusion-column-no-min-height\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-margin-bottom:0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p>As conflicts around the world continue to take a massive toll on people\u2019s lives, the top United Nations relief official stressed the importance of ensuring that the brave men and women who risk their lives to help those in need are not themselves a target.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe protection of aid workers is paramount,\u201d Stephen O\u2019Brien, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, underscored in an interview with\u00a0<em>UN News<\/em>\u00a0ahead of this year\u2019s World Humanitarian Day.<\/p>\n<p>The Day, observed annually on 19 August, seeks to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and rally support for people affected by crises worldwide. It was designated by the General Assembly to coincide with the date of the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, in which 22 staff lost their lives.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The protection of aid workers is paramount<small>Stephen O\u2019Brien<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This year, humanitarian partners are coming together under the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NotATarget?src=hash\">#NotATarget<\/a>\u00a0campaign to highlight the need to protect civilians caught in conflict, including humanitarian and medical workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorld Humanitarian Day is an opportunity for us to focus on protecting humanitarian aid workers, particularly in the medical field,\u201d Mr. O\u2019Brien noted.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, he said, humanitarian workers are operating in 40 countries across the world, often for many years, despite insufferable difficulties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople put themselves at great risk to reach people in need, in some of the most dangerous environments, in protracted crises around the world,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last fusion-column-no-min-height\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-margin-bottom:0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"--awb-max-width:600px;--awb-max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top:58.33%;\" ><iframe title=\"YouTube video player 1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/55GgMwsL_K0?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div id=\"fullstory\">\n<p>Just recently, seven Syrian volunteer rescuers, known as White Helmets, were killed. Mr. O\u2019Brien acknowledged that such incidents are becoming too commonplace. \u201cMy heart grieves for the family and friends of those brave people who gave the ultimate sacrifice to help others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the difficulties and dangers, Mr. O\u2019Brien stated that humanitarian work is moving forward \u201cat every point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMember States, humanitarian aid workers, coordinators of humanitarian relief \u2013 all of us continue to supply strength, determination, courage and conviction,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no higher international public good than seeking to save the lives and protect the civilians caught up in crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NotATarget?src=hash\">#NotATarget<\/a>\u00a0campaign follows the launch earlier this year of the UN Secretary-General\u2019s report on protection of civilians, in which he called for enhanced respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, and protection of civilians.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There is no higher international public good than seeking to save the lives and protect the civilians caught up in crisis<small>Stephen O\u2019Brien<\/small><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>According to the report, those most in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and protection are civilians in urban areas; children; targets of sexual violence; humanitarian workers; health workers; and forcibly displaced people.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. O\u2019Brien said that making a difference on the ground requires \u201cphysical will and relationships with players in all the various places\u201d to get the necessary access to those in need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are in the business of trying to protect civilians. We are trying to put in place the right balance. To do this, we must make sure that the perpetrators of violence are held accountable for their actions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>It is important, he stressed, that everyone adhere to agreed international norms, laws and principles, \u201cto make sure that people are held to account.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/apps\/news\/story.asp?NewsID=57378#.WZcPcZOGNBw\">UN News Centre<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6770],"class_list":["post-30664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-decent-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}