A press conference was held at the United Nations on Wednesday morning attended by several officials of foreign embassies (
UN Resident Coordinator Sunil Narulah, United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative Paul Hulshoff, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) representative Carlos Zaccagnini, and also Vice-President of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Mostafa Mohaqeq delivered speeches at the event.
“Today is the first World Humanitarian Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly to renew our commitment to help vulnerable, voiceless and marginalized people wherever they may be,” the UN Resident Coordinator told reporters.
We are gathered here to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the humanitarian workers killed at the UN Headquarters in Iraq, Narulah stated.
On 19 August 2003, a truck packed with a ton of explosives deliberately drove into the United Nations office in
The UNHCR representative, on his part, also stressed the need for paying tribute to the legions of heroic humanitarian personnel, whom he described as “dedicated men and women”, and said, “We are here to highlight the significance of their work.”
In the last decade, more than 700 humanitarian workers have made the ultimate sacrifice while striving to help those most in need in some of the world’s most hostile environments. Thousands more have endured bombing, kidnapping, attacks, hijacking, robbery and rape, Zaccagnini explained.
Despite the risks, IRCS official said, humanitarian workers provide life-saving assistance to millions of people around the world.
They work in conflict zones and areas of natural hazards. They place their own lives at risk. There are thousands of such workers providing humanitarian aid to people worldwide, Mohaqeq noted.
Also addressing the conference, UNICEF representative remarked that children and women suffer the most from conflict, war, natural disasters, and dire health and nutritional problems.
UNICEF representative, Paul Hulshoff speaking at the conference, stressed that humanitarian assistance plays a particularly important role in UNICEF operations.
He named disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness topics of concern to UNICEF and said the fund will increasingly engage in climate change adaptation, risk mitigation, early warning, preparedness and emergency response in order to reduce the impact disasters can have on vulnerable people, especially children and women.
According to the representative, emergencies may take the form of disasters, socio-political conflict, epidemics, systematic human rights violations, or any other situation which puts at risk the rights and well-being of women and children to such an extent that extraordinary measures are required.
Between 2005 and 2007, over 50 percent of emergencies were caused by disasters, whereas conflict-related interventions accounted for 30 percent and health-related emergencies for 19 percent of UNICEF’s emergency response, Hulshoff noted.
UNICEF is present in the field in more than 150 countries, which gives it a comparative advantage in addressing new emergencies, the official added, saying that between 2005 and 2007, UNICEF responded annually to some 276 emergencies in 92 countries.
On average, only 25 percent were ongoing or protracted emergencies, while 75 percent were new emergencies, Hulshoff stated.
We rely on your support to be able to respond effectively and efficiently to the needs of children and women all around the world affected by emergencies and to ensure their protection and well-being, he added.
Hulshoff referred to the increasingly complex humanitarian crisis situations and emphasized the need for emergency preparedness and rapid response.
The following are some facts and figures given to the Tehran Times daily by the UN Information Center in
Humanitarian facts and figures
Hunger:
According to the FAO, world hunger is projected to reach a historic high in 2009, with just over a billion people going hungry every day.
The most recent increase in hunger is not just the consequence of poor global harvests, but rather a combination of underlying factors, including most recently the world economic crisis, which have dramatically reduced access to food by the poor.
The undernourished mostly live in developing countries. In Asia and the Pacific Rim, an estimated 642 million people suffer from chronic hunger (equivalent to about half the population of
Refugees and displaced people:
Tens of millions of people around the world have been forcibly displaced, both within their own countries and across international borders.
There are 15.2 million refugees - people who have been forced to flee their own countries due to violence and war. At least 26 million have been displaced within their own countries by conflict or other forms of violence. Millions more are forcibly displaced within their own countries each year by natural disasters and other causes. This number is expected to rise still further in the coming years, at least in part in the context of climate change.
Often the most vulnerable people in a humanitarian crisis, those forcibly displaced from their homes are commonly at risk of further violence, discrimination, and destitution.
Children:
In 2008 more than 9 million children died before their fifth birthday. Most of these children lived in developing countries and died from a disease or a combination of diseases that could easily have been prevented or treated — antibiotics for pneumonia, or a simple mix of water, salt and sugar for diarrhea. Malnutrition still contributes to more than a third of these deaths.
Almost half of the persons of concern to the UNHCR are children. Forcible displacement exacerbates children’s exposure to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.
Of all displaced persons, children are at particular risk and require special attention due to their dependence upon adults to survive, their heightened vulnerability to physical and psychological trauma and the developmental needs that must be met to ensure normal growth and development.
Although children enjoy comprehensive rights under international law, more often than not, refugees, other displaced and stateless children are deprived of the most basic ones, including the right not to face discrimination, the right to health and the right to education. This is most notably the case when refugee children lack access to child protection systems in the country of asylum.
While all children have common needs, certain groups may face increased protection risks. These include unaccompanied and separated children; adolescents, especially teenage mothers and their children; victims of trafficking and sexual abuse; survivors of violence, in particular sexual and gender-based violence; children who get married under the age specified in national laws or are forced into unions; children who are or have been associated with armed groups; children in detention; children who face social discrimination; children with mental or physical disabilities; children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS; and children out of school.
Water and access to sanitation:
Every year, 1.8 million people die from diarrhea diseases. Getting water and sanitation supplies and services to victims of disasters and conflicts is a top priority for humanitarian workers. Ninety percent of deaths in children under the age of five occur in developing countries.
Improving water-supply systems can reduce diarrhea-related illness by 21 percent and better sanitation can reduce these cases by 38 percent. The simple act of washing hands can reduce diarrhea cases by up to 35 percent, while additional improvement to drinking water quality, such as point-of-use disinfection, reduces such episodes by 45 percent.
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