An international day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among countries under an intergovernmental organization. They are designated by the intergovernmental organization. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of a renowned individual or individuals from a country of that organization or elsewhere or the anniversary of such a death or deaths, the anniversaries of a significant natural or man-made disaster occurring in the country of the organization, wartime commemorations or in memory of the victims of a terrorist attack. Common symbols include flying the organization's flag at half-mast and observing minutes of silence.

Background

The concept was first introduced by European Commission on September 2001 after the terrorist attacks in the United States. The commission, together with the European Council and the European Parliament, designated 14 September 2001 as a day of mourning in member states and EU institutions. European citizens were asked to join in three minutes of silence.[1][2] The Arab League observed three days of mourning for the death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia on 4 August 2005.[3] After these, many organizations observed day of international mourning for several times.

List

Organization Year Days Reason Notes Ref.
 European Union 2001 1 Victims of the September 11 attacks Three minutes of silence. [1]
 Arab League 2005 3 Death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia [3]
 Arab League 2006 3 Death of Emir of Kuwait Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah [4]
Economic Community of West African States 2009 30 Death of President of Gabon Omar Bongo [5]
 European Union 2010 1 Victims of the Smolensk air disaster in Russia One minute of silence at NATO headquarters in Brussels. [6]
 Union of South American Nations 2010 1 Death of former President of Argentina Néstor Kirchner [7]
 African Union 2013 3 Death of former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela [8][9]
 European Union 2015 1 Victims of the November 2015 Paris attacks One minute of silence. [2]
 African Union 2019 3 Victims of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 [10]
 African Union 2019 3 Death of President of Tunisia Beji Caid Essebsi [11]
 East African Community 2020 3 Death of former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa [12]
 Arab League 2020 3 Death of Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah [13]
 Caribbean Community 2021 4 Assassination of President of Haiti Jovenel Moïse CARICOM Standard and national flags were flown at half-staff for 3 days starting from Wednesday July 7 to Friday July 9 and on funeral day of Haitian president. [14]
 Arab League 2022 3 Death of President of UAE Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Arab League flag lowered at half-mast [15]
 Arab League 2023 3 Victims of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion [16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "European day of mourning declared on Friday". The Independent. 2001-09-11. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  2. 1 2 "EU budget deal strengthens response to refugee crisis" (PDF). European Commission. 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  3. 1 2 "King Fahd Brought Vision of Progress". Aramco Expats. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  4. "كونا : الجامعة العربية تعلن الحداد الرسمي لرحيل سمو امير الكويت – عام – 15/01/2006". March 21, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-21.
  5. "Bongo: Deuil national de 8 jours au Congo". 11 June 2009.
  6. "Polish president's body to lie in state". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. April 13, 2010. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  7. "Unasur declaró tres días duelo sudamericano por la muerte de Kirchner". Ambito (in Spanish). 2010-10-28.
  8. "AU Commission declares three-day mourning for Mandela". Premium Times. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  9. Adebowale, Segun (6 December 2013). "AUC declares three-day of mourning in honour of Mandela". The Eagle Online. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  10. "AMISOM announces three days of mourning in honour of the late Acting Police Commissioner". African Union Mission in Somalia. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  11. "AU begins 3-day mourning to honour late Tunisian President". Daijiworld Media. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  12. "President Kenyatta declares three days of mourning in Kenya to honour Tanzania's Benjamin Mkapa". Citizen Digital. 24 July 2020.
  13. "Mauritania mourns Kuwait late Amir". Kuna. 2020-09-30. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  14. "CARICOM Standard at half-mast as mark of respect to assassinated President of Haiti". CARICOM Today. 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  15. "Leaders across Middle East mourn death of UAE president". Xinhua. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  16. "Arab Ambassadors in Japan mirror Arab League's three days of mourning for Gaza". Arab News. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
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