This holiday was founded by the United Nations (UN) in 2009 to memorialize the bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq. A total of 22 people died, which included the organization’s High Commissioner for Human Rights.
To commemorate World Humanitarian Day, here are some quotes from religious leaders, volunteers, politicians, and other prominent figures that will inspire you to make the world a better place. Table of Contents
General Humanitarian Quotes (1-10)
- “ All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.”-Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
- “The most wonderful study of mankind is man. Relieving human suffering and diffusing universal knowledge is humanitarian.” Daniel D. Palmer
- “ The humanitarian is a treasure hunter seeking gems of remedy and appreciation.” Richelle E. Goodrich
- “ Humanitarian appeals always help. They penetrate deeper than political tradeoffs.” Rev. Jesse Jackson
- “I’m consistently asked how I keep a foot in two contrasting worlds-one in the entertainment industry, predicated on wealth and indulgence, and the other in humanitarian work. To me, it’s less of a question of how can you do this and more of a question of how can you not?” –Meghan Markle
- “When you work as a humanitarian, you are conscious that politics have to be considered. Because if you really want to make an extreme change, then you have a responsibility.”- Angelina Jolie
- “Politeness is the flower of humanity.”- Joseph Joubert
- “An individual hasn’t started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “No religion is higher than humanity.” – Abdul Sattar Edhi
- “This is my creed: Happiness is the only good: reason the only torch; justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.- Robert Green Ingersoll
Humanitarian Day Quotes About Showing Kindness (11-19)
11.“We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.” -Charlie Chaplin
12. “Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”– Socrates
13. “Kindness is the best form of humanity.”– Doris Lee
14. “Every act of kindness is a piece of love we leave behind.”-Paul Williams
15. “A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” – Steve Maraboli
16. “To say that on a daily basis you can make a difference, well you can. One act of kindness a day can do it.” -Betty Williams
17. “My true religion is kindness.”-Dalai Lama
18. “By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answer to our own.”- Dieter F. Uchtdorf
19. “ The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”-Oscar Wilde
Humanitarian Day Quotes About Lack of Humanity (20-24)
20. “The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people.”-Unknown
21. “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” -Albert Einstein
22. “For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
23. “Adjusting to inhumanity is a crime against humanity.”- Abhijit Naskar
24. “You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know.”-William Wilberforce
Humanitarian Day Quotes About Love, Compassion, and Empathy (25-35)
25. “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”- Mother Teresa
26. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”-Dalai Lama
27. “The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet… Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places…..We do not need magic to change the world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”– J.K. Rowling
28. “The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others.”- Albert Schweitzer
29. “Compassion is what makes our lives meaningful.” -Dalai Lama
30. “Embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important.” Pope Francis
31. “We are afraid to care too much for fear that the other person does not care at all.”-Eleanor Roosevelt
32. “Nothing is more important than empathy for another human being’s suffering. Nothing. Not career, not wealth, not intelligence, certainly not status, We have to feel for one another if we’re going to survive with dignity.” -Audrey Hepburn
33. “The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.”- Dalai Lama
34. “ Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.”- Erma Bombeck
35. “Volunteers are love in motion.”– Author Unknown
Humanitarian Day Quotes About Making A Difference (36-46)
36.“What you do makes a difference. And you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” -Jane Goodall
37. “Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved believes in the goodness of people.” -Roy T. Bennet
38. “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”– Paulo Coelho
39. “We all have different inspirations but one goal; a better world.”- Ernesto Arguello
40. “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”- John Holmes
41. “ Even if you just change one life, you’ve changed the world forever.”- Mike Satterfield
42. “At the end of the day, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.”-Denzel Washington
43. “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us, what we have done for others and the world remains and is immoral.” – Albert Pike
44. “Always remember we have the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world.”- Harriet Tubman
45. “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world, And you have to do it all the time.”- Angela Davis
46. “Isn’t that why we’re put on this earth to begin with, to make it a better place? It’s not a religious quest; its a humanitarian one.- Simone Elkeles
Humanitarian Day Quotes About Helping Others and Being Of Service (47-55)
47. “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.”-Leo Tolstoy
48. “You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”-Mother Theresa
49. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
50. “Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return but because of who you are.” – Mother Teresa
51. “There is no joy equal to that of being able to work for all humanity and do what you’re doing well.”- Buckminster Fuller
52. “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”- Audrey Hepburn
53. “Service is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”-Muhammad Ali
54. “Whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity, and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and worth.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
55. “There is no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.”-Nelson Mandela
Humanitarian Day Quotes About Human Rights For All (56-66)
56. “In the end, anti-black, anti-female, and all forms of discrimination are equivalent to the same thing: anti-humanism.”- Shirley Chisholm
57. “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” – Dr. Paul Farmer
58. “The fight against global warming is a humanitarian issue-how the planet can be preserved and it is also an issue of considerable economic importance, of what we call green growth.”-Francois Hollande
59. “All women and girls have the right to live free of violence. This right is enshrined in international human rights and humanitarian law. And it lies at the heart of my UNITE to End Violence Against Women campaign.”- Ban Ki-moon
60. “Humanitarian issues must bring together all people who act in good faith trying to alleviate the suffering of people in dire need especially women, children, and the elderly.” -Sergei Lavrov
61. “The fact that ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye, look across the ocean to Africa and say this and mean it. We do not have to stand for this. A whole continent written off-we do not have to stand for this.” –Bono (Paul David Lewis)
62. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
63. “The destiny of world civilization depends upon providing a decent standard of living for all mankind.”- Norman Borlaug
64. “No march, movement, or agenda that defines manhood in the narrowest terms and seeks to make women lesser partners in this quest for equality can be considered a positive step.” –Angela Davis
65. “Humanitarians consist in never sacrificing a human being to a purpose.” – Albert Schweitzer
66. “ I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.”- Malcolm X
Humanitarian Day Quotes About Taking Action (67-76)
67. “If you can’t feed a hundred people, just feed one.”-Mother Theresa
68. “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”- Edward Everett Hale
69. “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of the missing drop.” -Mother Teresa
70. “We are very, very small, but we are profoundly capable of very very big things.”- Stephen Hawkin.
71. “The question shouldn’t be what we ought to do, but what we can do.”- Rory Stewart
72. “Do not sit and wait for a savior to come, be the savior for the people in despair.” -Abhot Naskar
73. “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” -Mother Teresa
74. “What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.”-Pablo Picasso
75. “Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.”- Theodore Roosevelt
76. “Alone we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” –Hellen Keller
Humanitarian Quotes About Philanthropy and Giving Back (77-86)
77. “Philanthropy is not about money….it’s about feeling the pain of others and caring about their needs to help.”-Timothy Pina
78. “Forcing people to be generous isn’t humanitarian, effective, compassionate, or moral. Only acts that are truly voluntary for all concerned can be truly compassionate.”-Harry Browne
79. “Humanitarian response, sustainable development, and sustaining peace are three sides of the same triangle.”- Antonio Guterres
80. “Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back.”- Princess Diana
81. “Since the world has existed, there has been injustice. But it is one world, the more so as it becomes smaller, more accessible. There is just no question that there is more obligation that those who have should give to those who have nothing.” – Audrey Hepburn
82. “If you are in the luckiest 1 percent of humanity, you owe it to rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent.” – Warren Buffet
83. “Philanthropy may not be your calling, but being a humanitarian requires nothing more than an open heart and willing spirit.”- Germany Kent
84. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”-Winston Churchill
85. “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.”– Maya Angelou
86. “The broadest and maybe the most meaningful definition of volunteering: Doing more than you have to because you want to, in a cause you consider good,”-Ivan Scheier
Humanitarian Quotes About Being and Doing Good (87-94)
87. “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.”- Minor Meyers, Jr.
88. “Be a good human being, a warm-hearted, affectionate person. That is my fundamental belief.” –Dalai Lama
89. “Do your little bit of good where you are. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”.- Desmond Tutu
90. “Don’t be content in your life just to do no wrong, be prepared every day to try and do some good.” –Nicholas Winton
91. “Being good is commendable, but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful.”- Unknown
92. “Before becoming a Muslim, a Sikh, a Hindu, or Christian, lets become a better human first.”- Guru Nanak Dev Ji
93. “Be certain that you do not die without having done something for humanity.”-Maya Angelou
94. “The simplest way to be happy is to do good.”-Hellen Keller
Humanitarian Quotes About Justice and Equality (95-103)
95. “I think that we all want justice and equality, a chance for a life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad situation, someone would help us.”- Angelina Jolie
96. “I’m for truth no matter who tells it. I’m for justice no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”- Malcolm X
97. “When we live in a world that is unjust, you have to be a dissident.” – Nawal El Saadawi
98. “The true measure of the justice of a system is the amount of protection it guarantees to the weakest.”- Aung San Suu Kyi
99. “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on the generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”- Nelson Mandela
100.“ When wealth is seen as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw.
101. Stigmatize those who let people die, not those who struggle to live.”- Sarah Kendzior
102. “Make a career out of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
103. “We need to create a world that is equitable, that is stable and a world where we bear in mind the needs of others, and not only what we need immediately. We are all in the same boat.”- Kofi Annan
Humanitarian Quotes About Strength and Courage (104-112)
104. “I pray God that we never use our physical prowess to oppress the human race, but we will use our strength, physically, morally, and otherwise to preserve humanity and civilization.” – Marcus Garvey
105. “Strong people stand up from themselves, but stronger people stand up for others.”- Unknown
106. “I raise my voice not so I can shout, but so those without a voice can be heard. We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”- Malala Yousazai
107. “Moral courage is the highest expression of humanity.” – Ralph Nader
108. “You must never be fearful about what you are doing if it is right.”- Rosa Parks
109. “History has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take a life of its own.”-Michelle Obama
110. “I’ve learned that courage and compassion are two sides of the same coin and that every warrior, every humanitarian, every citizen is built to live with both. In fact, to win a war, to create peace, to save a life, or just to live a good life requires of us-of everyone one of us -that we both good and strong.”- Eric Greitens
111. “ I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”-Nelson Mandela
112. “ I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me.”– Harriet Tubman
Humanitarian Quotes About Taking Responsibility (113-120)
113. “ I believe we have a responsibility not only to our contemporaries but also to our future generations- a responsibility to preserve resources that belong to them as well a to us and without which none of us can survive.”– Kofi Annan
114. “Your job is not to judge. Your job is not to figure out if someone deserves something. Your job is to lift the fallen, to restore the broken, and to heal the hurting.” – Joel Olsteen
115. “Every state has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights, as well as from the consequences of humanitarian crisis, whether natural or man-made. – Pope Benedict XVI
116. “Each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity.”-Marie Curie
117. “Our generation has the ability and the responsibility to make our ever more connected world a more hopeful, stable, and peaceful.”- Natalie Portman
118. “As believers, we all have an opportunity and moral obligation to recognize our spiritual common ground: to rise above our differences; to combat prejudices and intolerance.”-Queen Noor of Jordan
119. “Art to me is a humanitarian act and I believe that there is a responsibility that art should somehow be able to reflect mankind, to make the world a better place.”-Jeff Koons
120. “We are not only responsible for each other’s security. We are also, in some measure, responsible for each other’s welfare.”– Kofi Annan
Humanitarian Quotes About Cruelty and Selfishness (121-126)
121. “Let us try to teach generosity and altruism because we are all born selfish.” –Richard Dawkins
122. “The more we take, the less there is for future generations.”-Phil Kingston
123. “The thinking man must oppose all cruel customs, no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another, even the lowliest creature; but to do so is to renounce our manhood and shoulder a guilt which nothing justifies.”- Dr. Albert Schweitzer
124. “Most wars present themselves as humanitarian endeavors to help people.”- Howard Zinn
125. “When humans act with cruelty, we characterize them as “animals,” yet the only animal that displays cruelty is humanity.” – Anthony Douglass Williams
126. “I think slavery is the next thing to hell. If a person would send another into bondage, he would, it appears to me, be bad enough to send him into hell if he could.”- Harriet Tubman
Which ones are your favorite quotes? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
Thank you for reading.
Yours truly,
Tracy
