Why 19 August Must Wake Us Up
EU-CORD CEO and NGO VOICE Board Member Ruth Faber shares her Reflections for World Humanitarian Day 2025
For most of us, 19 August will pass like any other day.
We’ll check our emails, skim the headlines, scroll past the news.
We might catch a story about wildfires or inflation.
We might also scroll past a death toll.
- Maybe from Gaza, where over 63,000 people, including 18,500 children, have been killed since October 2023.
- Or from Sudan, where more than 25 million people need aid — but access is blocked and violence continues.
- Or from DR Congo, where sexual violence and displacement are widespread but rarely make the news.
- Or Yemen, where almost a decade of conflict has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Even when these stories break through — how often do they lead to change?
Meanwhile, for others, there is no ordinary day
Even if we scroll past, there are people who can’t.
People who are not reading about the crisis — they are living it. And in many cases, they are also the ones responding.
They are teachers running makeshift schools in conflict zones.
Nurses treating the wounded in hospitals barely standing.
Volunteers delivering food under gunfire.
Faith leaders offering shelter, prayer, and presence.
These are the humanitarian workers we honour on 19 August.
Not just international workers — but overwhelmingly people responding within their own communities
They give up far more than the few minutes it takes to write this article.
They give up safety. Security. Sometimes, their lives.
In 2024, more than 380 humanitarian workers were killed — the deadliest year ever recorded.
And 2025 is already on course to be worse.
This isn’t just a crisis of violence. It’s a crisis of accountability.
These deaths — and the widespread suffering we see — are not just tragic.
They are often the result of violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
Under IHL:
- Civilians should be protected.
- Aid workers must not be targeted.
- Medical facilities and convoys are not military targets.
But in conflicts across the world, these laws are ignored — or deliberately broken.
And when no one is held accountable, the violations continue.
When IHL breaks down, humanitarian space shrinks.
And when humanitarian space disappears, so do the lifelines that keep people alive.
For us, this is a matter of conscience.
As a Christian network, we believe in the sacredness of every human life.
We cannot stay silent as civilians are targeted and those who try to help them are punished for it.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves… defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
— Proverbs 31:8–9
This isn’t just about law.
It’s about justice. Dignity. Conscience.
It’s about restoring boundaries in conflict and protecting those who protect others.
And what about the EU — and us?
The EU plays a critical role in humanitarian response — as one of the world’s largest donors, a diplomatic force, and a defender of international norms.
That role is now more critical than ever.
With the U.S. retreating from global humanitarian leadership and the disassembly of USAID, the EU is being looked to as a stabilising force — to protect humanitarian space, uphold international law, and invest where others are pulling back.
But the EU is not just an institution.
It is us.
It is the citizens who choose what to care about,
the governments we elect,
the stories we amplify,
the pressure we apply.
So as the EU calls for respect for international humanitarian law, we must ask:
🔸 Are we willing to hold our leaders to that standard?
🔸 To challenge double standards — not just elsewhere, but within our own systems?
🔸 To invest in justice — not only when it’s convenient, but when it’s costly?
Our responsibility doesn’t end with institutions.
It begins with conscience — and must lead to action.
What must change?
This World Humanitarian Day, networks like VOICE are calling on the EU and its Member States to:
Protect civilians and aid workers
Enforce IHL and end impunity
Defend humanitarian space and its principles
Invest in local leadership
So if 19 August feels like just another day — remember this:
🟠 For many, it’s a day like any other — marked by loss, risk, and resilience.
🟠 For others, it’s a day they won’t survive.
🟠 And for all of us, it’s a moment to act.
Because if we fail to protect those who protect others,
We’re not just failing humanitarians —
We’re failing humanity.
🔗 Learn more:
