His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the State, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, affirmed that the UAE opens its doors to humanitarian and charitable talents from anywhere in the world, as they create hope and a future through their efforts and sacrifices. This announcement coincides with International Humanitarian Day, celebrated annually on August 19.
Sheikh Mohammed stated, "On International Humanitarian Day, we celebrate its heroes, making the UAE the destination for those involved in charitable and humanitarian initiatives, as they do not hesitate to put all their energies and capabilities into serving those in need and extending a helping hand to the most vulnerable communities." He emphasized that "humanitarian pioneers are ambassadors of the UAE and examples we are proud of, as the UAE was founded on giving... Our aim for the next fifty years is to make it the most active global humanitarian capital."
He added, "Launching humanitarian initiatives and empowering their pioneers is an inherent characteristic of the UAE since its union, and in the year of the fifty, the country establishes its position as a base for charitable and humanitarian work for the next 50 years by providing opportunities for humanitarian workers to obtain the golden residency."
Sheikh Mohammed continued, "We have honored the makers of hope and their heroes, responded with urgent support for those affected by humanitarian crises, and established the largest gathering of its kind for humanitarian and relief services, within the Global Humanitarian City, making the UAE a global station and international corridor for UN relief efforts. Today we expand this commitment to humanitarian work to include its pioneers, staff, specialists, and workers, so that the UAE, with its golden residency, becomes a second home for them." He concluded by stating, "The UAE is not just an economic capital, but also a humanitarian and civilized capital."
International Humanitarian Day, launched by the United Nations, celebrates the stars of humanitarian work worldwide to highlight their tremendous efforts and good deeds, and to showcase their initiatives and the impacts they have in alleviating the burden of humanitarian crises and reducing suffering globally. This year's celebrations are under the dual themes of “Race for Humanity” and “Support for True Heroes,” which call for supporting humanitarian and relief workers by providing them with a safe and supportive environment for their efforts in helping those in need in the direst conditions.
There is an urgent need for the efforts of all workers, volunteers, and pioneers in humanitarian and charitable work worldwide. UN figures indicate that 235 million people needed humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021, with the rate of those in need reaching one in every 33 people globally.
The golden residency system in the UAE provides beneficiaries, including expatriates and their families wishing to live and work in the country, the opportunity for long-term residency. The UAE implemented the "golden residency" system to include long-term residency visas for five or ten years, automatically renewed under the same conditions for specific categories, including investors, doctors, entrepreneurs, specialized talent from scientists, creators, inventors, individuals with exceptional abilities, and researchers in various fields of science and knowledge.
The initiative to grant golden residency to humanitarian and charitable workers in the UAE aims to provide them with a safe haven for their humanitarian operations and enhance their ability to communicate among themselves as well as with local, regional, and global charity and humanitarian organizations. This further solidifies the UAE's position as a global capital for sustainable and impactful humanitarian work on a broader scale.
The UAE has taken it upon itself to support brotherly and friendly countries, whether through supporting development projects or responding to humanitarian crises and disasters, contributing to the prosperity and stability in these nations and alleviating human suffering in collaboration with regional and international partners and UN agencies working in humanitarian and developmental fields. The volume of UAE's external aid reached 320 billion dirhams, the total amount of foreign aid provided by the UAE in 201 countries since the establishment of the union.
The UAE has reaffirmed its leading global model for immediate crisis and disaster response, as demonstrated by the level of humanitarian aid provided by the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching a total of 2,154 tons of medical aid, respiratory devices, testing equipment, and personal protective equipment sent to beneficiaries in 135 countries worldwide. Aid was sent to 117 countries from the warehouses of international organizations located in the Global Humanitarian City in Dubai, with the state organizing 196 flights to transport medical supplies and establishing six field hospitals in Sudan, Guinea, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, and Jordan, alongside setting up a mobile clinic in Turkmenistan.
Institutionalizing humanitarian work adds a qualitative value to the extensive record of charitable and humanitarian activities in the state, as represented by the "Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives," established in 2015 to serve as a supporting umbrella for various initiatives and organizations launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum over the decades. The initiatives reached 83 million people in 82 countries in 2020 through numerous humanitarian projects, with a designated budget of 1.2 billion dirhams, today encompassing dozens of initiatives and organizations that implement charitable and humanitarian programs worldwide across five main pillars: humanitarian and relief aid, healthcare and disease control, spreading education and knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship, and community empowerment. This supports institutional humanitarian work, achieves its sustainability, and expands its positive impact.
In 2020 alone, it employed a total of 576 staff members and over 121,000 volunteers from various humanitarian fields, collaborating to fulfill the organization's humanitarian goals across dozens of countries and communities impacted by its initiatives. The total humanitarian and relief aid provided by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives amounted to 382 million dirhams in 2020, benefiting 34.8 million individuals that same year.
In emphasizing the principle of human solidarity during crises, the "100 Million Meals" campaign, the largest of its kind in the region to provide food in 30 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America, also emerged. The campaign, carried out by the initiatives in collaboration with the UN World Food Programme, the Regional Food Banks Network, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Charity and Humanitarian Work, alongside numerous charities and relief organizations in the covered countries, succeeded in gathering contributions equivalent to 216 million meals, including donations from 385,000 donors, various government and private institutions, and the business community. The campaign also organized charity auctions that doubled its target figures and provided food support to beneficiaries in the communities most in need.
The golden residency initiative for humanitarian workers is a recognition of their efforts and sacrifices. The UAE's total external aid reached 320 billion dirhams across 201 countries since the union's establishment.
Vice President of the UAE:
- "The UAE is not just an economic capital, but a humanitarian and civilized capital that opens its doors to humanitarian and charitable talent from anywhere."
- "On International Humanitarian Day, we celebrate its heroes, making the UAE the destination for those involved in charitable and humanitarian initiatives."
- "Humanitarian pioneers are ambassadors of the UAE, and examples we take pride in, as the state was founded on giving."
