Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet

MFA: World Humanitarian Day highlights civilians' dire situation

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The World Humanitarian Day will be held next Sunday, 19 August. This year, special attention will be called to the difficult situation of civilians affected by acute conflicts in, for example Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Contrary to the rules of international law, millions of people fall targets of hostilities: civilians are targeted, hospitals and schools are looted and destroyed, and people do not get emergency relief.

"The importance of humanitarian assistance is highlighted in connection with the protracted conflicts of today, when millions of people are nearly fully dependent on emergency relief.  The international community, including Finland, is responsible for ensuring safe and effective assistance to these people. I am concerned about violence against civilian populations, especially about violence against children and recurring violations of humanitarian law,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

The need for humanitarian aid is growing around the world. This year's UN Global Humanitarian Appeal totals USD 25.4 billion. By the end of July, the funded amount was USD 9.4 billion, corresponding to 37 per cent of the total requirement.  It is estimated that 96 million people in about 40 countries are in need of urgent assistance. In addition to the support provided by states, humanitarian organisations need support from private donors and societies.

Finland aims to raise its funding of humanitarian assistance to EUR 72.5 by the end of this year. To date, the amount channelled via the Ministry for Foreign Affairs totals EUR 67 million. The biggest amounts of assistance have been provided to Syria crisis, Yemen, South Sudan and Somalia.  The funding is channelled via the UN specialised agencies, the Red Cross Movement, and Finnish civil society organisations. This year, nearly half of Finland's humanitarian assistance is provided in the form of core funding, allowing the humanitarian organisations to decide about its allocation quickly and flexibly. In international contexts relating to humanitarian assistance, Finland has also strongly promoted the improvement of the position of people with disabilities.    

Read more about the targets of Finland's humanitarian assistance in 2018 (Press release, 3 April 2018)    

www.WorldHumanitarianDay.org

Inquiries: Claus Jerker Lindroos, Director, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance and Policy, tel. +358 295 351 234 or +358 40 132 1416, and Juha Kirstilä, Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, tel. +358 40 552 8200

The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are of the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.

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