Every year, the global community commemorates World Humanitarian Day on 19 August to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world.

19 August was chosen as World Humanitarian Day because on that day in 2003, 22 UN staff were murdered in Baghdad in a terrorist attack on the UN headquarters at the Canal Hotel. 

Find out more about World Humanitarian Day at worldhumanitarianday.org and on UN Observances website.

In 2017 OCHA asked people to sign a petition and stand with the UN Secretary-General and committed humanitarians everywhere to demand that world leaders do everything in their power to protect civilians caught in armed conflict. The theme is Civilians are #NotATarget.