World Humanitarian Day: 23 years on, the work in Iraq continues

On the morning of 19 August 2003, a truck bomb tore through the Canal Hotel in Baghdad — the United Nations headquarters in Iraq. Twenty-two people lost their lives in the attack, among them Sérgio Vieira de Mello, the UN Special Representative for Iraq, and more than a hundred others were injured. Most of them were humanitarians: aid workers who had chosen to stay and serve, even as the country burned around them.

The United Nations General Assembly later designated 19 August as the World Humanitarian Day — an annual tribute to these women and men, and to all humanitarian personnel who risk their lives for others.

Twenty-three years on, Iraq has shifted its axis towards stability. Today, we remember that attack — and we reaffirm that the humanitarian sector remains of the utmost relevance.

A new phase of humanitarian work

Following the conclusion of active conflict, humanitarianism in Iraq has entered a new phase. Its objective is no longer emergency response alone: it has shifted towards addressing the remaining needs of people across Iraqi territory. The challenge today is one of lasting recovery, not only of rescue.

Mercy Hands winter relief distribution supported by UNHCR in Iraq

Internally displaced people and returnees continue to face unmet needs — shelter, food, health care, livelihoods, and legal documentation — while their home communities need support in absorbing them. More than 4.9 million people have returned to their areas of origin, yet hundreds of thousands have come back to areas where living conditions remain severe. Crises across the region have also triggered further population movements, sustaining the demand for a humanitarian response. Against this backdrop, a more development-focused approach is increasingly needed to address the evolving needs of Iraqi citizens beyond emergency assistance.

Psychosocial support session for students in Nineveh, delivered with Save the Children

Working where it is hardest

In Iraq, serving others comes at a cost. Humanitarians must operate against possible security threats and hostilities that can disrupt their work. Movement restrictions and difficult geographical conditions limit their reach to the places most in need of help.

Mercy Hands team loading drinking water for distribution

Every one of these factors is a daily risk for the humanitarians working across Iraq — and a reason to remember why this work deserves both recognition and protection.

We remember the 22 colleagues who lost their lives on this day — and honour every aid worker who continues the mission in their name.

A story born of that very day

The aftermath of the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, and the targeting of international relief workers that followed, led many humanitarian organizations to withdraw from Iraq or scale down their operations. The withdrawal left a profound gap in the humanitarian landscape — at precisely the moment when humanitarian needs were rising.

Mercy Hands team at the Al-Ameriya Central Camp in Baghdad

It was into that gap that Mercy Hands for Humanitarian Aid was born. In late summer 2004, barely a year after the attack, Dr. Khaldoon Al Moosawi founded the organization as a local Iraqi NGO — an act of resolve that answered the very moment this day commemorates. What began as a small local initiative has since grown into a national organization: twenty-two years of uninterrupted work, 298 approved projects, and programmes reaching communities across fifteen or more governorates — from shelter and health care to education, livelihoods, legal assistance, and peacebuilding.

Our work has been delivered hand in hand with the communities themselves, including internally displaced and returning families, always on the principle that aid knows no sect, no gender, and no political flag. Every programme we run is a quiet act of remembrance: the mission that began in the ruins of Baghdad still moves forward, one community at a time.

On this World Humanitarian Day, we honour the 22 lives lost in Baghdad, and every humanitarian who carries on their work — including the Iraqi humanitarians who stayed, built, and never left. Moving forward, we remain committed to strengthening our efforts — for a resilient, peaceful, and sustainable Iraq.

Community art session building hope among children and families

Sources

• United Nations – World Humanitarian Day (un.org/en/observances/world-humanitarian-day).

• OHCHR – Memorial: Iraq 2003 (ohchr.org).

• UN News – Guterres affirms UN will never forget staff killed in Baghdad attack (news.un.org).

• IOM – Iraq Crisis Response Plan 2026 (crisisresponse.iom.int).