The United Nations has paid tribute to those who were killed in its Iraqi office back in 2003.

Attendees paid their respects in front of a UN flag which was torn apart in the terrorist attack that killed twenty-two UN staff. Five years later, the United Nations decided to mark the annual World Humanitarian Day on August 19th, the date of the attack.

Speaking at the commemoration venue in the Swiss city of Geneva, a senior UN official said such activities carry greater significance in current times of turmoil.

"It (The World Humanitarian Day) gets more important every year because our challenges are growing every year. As you can see, all you have to do is to open up newspapers or even just look at the front pages to see the challenges that we are being faced with: increasing numbers of refugees, increasing number of needs, decreasing financial resources to do it. Somebody mentioned the fact that we keep being pushed to do more with less, and the fact that our colleagues are being targeted more and more," said Michael Moller, director general of UN office in Geneva.