In Video Message for World Humanitarian Day, Secretary-General Urges Greater Sense of Global Citizenship to End Suffering

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message for World Humanitarian Day, observed today:

Millions of people around the world are affected by crises.  They desperately need life-saving help.

To reduce and end this suffering, we all need a greater sense of global citizenship and solidarity.  We need to unite and demand more humanity — from our leaders, our neighbours and ourselves.

On this World Humanitarian Day, I call on you to join our campaign for a more humane world.  And I ask you to remember the aid workers who have sacrificed their lives to help others.

In May next year, in Istanbul, the first World Humanitarian Summit will focus global attention on people caught in crisis.  It will generate bold new ideas for meeting today’s tremendous humanitarian challenges.

Together we must build a more humane world.

The world’s most vulnerable people count on your support.