International Volunteer Day
International Volunteer Day [5 December every year] is an opportunity to celebrate and thank people all around the world who dedicate their precious time and efforts to voluntary service. For the IFRC, it's also about standing in solidarity and demanding that humanitarian volunteers are respected, protected and supported in their life-saving work.
International Volunteer Day 2024: #ProtectHumanity
IFRC staff and volunteers from the Geneva Red Cross hold photos of volunteers killed in the line of duty this year. As of 5 December, 32 Red Cross and Red Crescent Staff and volunteers have been killed in the line of duty in 2024.
Photo: IFRC
They gathered in town squares, held candles in city parks, and stood among the ruins of bombed-out buildings. They were Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers from all corners of the globe and they all had one common message: Violence against humanitarian workers must stop.
Under the banner of “Protect Humanity,” IFRC member National Societies from around the world came together in honor of International Volunteer Day to raise the alarm about the urgent need to protect humanitarian workers and volunteers.
Since the beginning of the year, 32 of the IFRC network’s volunteers and staff have died or been killed while performing their humanitarian duties – 28 in violent attacks and 3 in accidents. This is among the highest levels of global violence against IFRC network teams that we have ever experienced.
On this International Volunteer Day, we stand in solidarity with all volunteers around the world in calling on all sectors of society to ensure volunteers are protected, respected and supported in their life-saving work.