Pope Francis this Saturday, the date on which World Humanitarian Aid Day is celebrated, called for a reduction in the world’s military spending in favor of more humanitarian aid.
“It is our responsibility to help eradicate hatred and violence from human hearts,” Francis wrote in a post on social network X, formerly Twitter.
It is our responsibility to help eradicate hatred and violence from human hearts. Let’s encourage the setting aside of weapons, a reduction in military spending so that humanitarian needs can be met & instruments of death turned into instruments of life.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) August 19, 2023
The pope called for “withdrawal of arms and for military spending to be reduced so that humanitarian needs can be met and instruments of death transformed into instruments of life”.
The theme for World Humanitarian Day 2023 is “No Matter What”.
The United Nations Organization established this day in 2008 after a terrorist attack on its facilities in the Iraqi capital Baghdad claimed 22 lives on August 19, 2003.
Among the victims was Sérgio Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian diplomat who had been designated a United Nations Special Representative.
This was the deadliest attack on UN personnel in the organization’s history. It came on the heels of the US-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled dictator Saddam Hussein but sparked an insurgency and years of brutal civil war in the country.
The United Nations and Iraq today celebrated the 20th anniversary of the attack, highlighting the deep “wounds” left at the time, but also progress in the country’s stability.
The head of the United Nations (UN) Assistance Mission for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said at the ceremony that “the wounds left by the 2003 attack — and the violence that followed — are deep” and “may never fully heal.” will heal”. .
However, he pointed to recent progress in Iraq’s stability and efforts by the current government to improve social services.
The past 20 years have been “a very difficult road,” he said, adding that “throughout all these years, the United Nations has not given up its efforts to contribute to peace and stability in Iraq.”
Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, who also attended the ceremony, deemed the attack “one of the most tragic incidents in Iraq’s history” and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to fighting terrorism.
Source: DN
