This World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day comes at a moment of profound alarm. Across conflicts and crises, we are witnessing a dangerous erosion of the very values and safeguards designed to preserve human life and dignity.
Too many of our colleagues have been killed - some while driving ambulances, working in hospitals and responding to emergencies; others while helping people in their own communities. We honour them and mourn alongside their families, loved ones and colleagues.
These deaths are not isolated tragedies. They are part of a broader pattern of disregard for international humanitarian law, for the protection owed to medical and humanitarian personnel, and for the rules that help preserve human dignity in some of the darkest times. When those who care for the wounded, evacuate the injured or keep health services running are attacked, the loss goes far beyond individual lives. Communities lose a lifeline. Trust is shaken. Our shared humanity is diminished.
And yet, in armed conflicts, disasters and other crises worldwide, Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff continue to stand with people in need - often in the same places where they live, raise their families and face the same dangers as those around them. Their presence is a powerful expression of humanity in action.
On this 8 May, we call on all those with influence and responsibility to uphold the protections that civilians, medical personnel, humanitarian workers and communities depend on. Respect for the emblems, for humanitarian rules and principles, is therefore essential.
Today, we also say to colleagues across our Movement: we see you, we thank you and we stand with you. At a time when division, violence and disregard for human suffering are testing the limits, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement remains united in humanity.
