‘Every Minute 20 People Leave Everything Behind to Escape War, Persecution or Terror’

(United Nations)* — Refugees need our solidarity now more than ever. Solidarity means keeping our doors open, celebrating their strengths and achievements, and reflecting on the challenges they face. 

Solidarity with people forced to flee also means finding solutions to their plight – ending conflicts so they can return home in safety, ensuring they have opportunities to thrive in the communities that have welcomed them, and providing countries with the resources they need to include and support refugees.

Learn more about this year’s observance!

Background

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.

World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

Kamal and his family are among the thousands of refugees who have fled Myanmar since August 2017. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, is the lead agency with respect to the protection of refugees and the internally displaced. Photo: UNOPS

Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. There are several types of forcibly displaced persons:

Refugees

A refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”, according to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters.

Asylum Seekers

Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled.

Internally Displaced Persons

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country.

Stateless Persons

Stateless persons do not have a recognized nationality and do not belong to any country.

Statelessness situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification — a citizenship certificate — can exclude them from access to important government services, including health care, education or employment.

Returnees

Returnees are former refugees who return to their own countries or regions of origin after time in exile. Returnees need continuous support and reintegration assistance to ensure that they can rebuild their lives at home.

UN Action 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol

Refugees are among the most vulnerable people in the world. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol help protect them.

They are the only global legal instruments explicitly covering the most important aspects of a refugee’s life. According to their provisions, refugees deserve, as a minimum, the same standards of treatment enjoyed by other foreign nationals in a given country and, in many cases, the same treatment as nationals.

The 1951 Convention contains a number of rights and also highlights the obligations of refugees towards their host country. The cornerstone of the 1951 Convention is the principle of non-refoulement.

According to this principle, a refugee should not be returned to a country where he or she faces serious threats to his or her life or freedom.

This protection may not be claimed by refugees who are reasonably regarded as a danger to the security of the country, or having been convicted of a particularly serious crime, are considered a danger to the community.

The rights contained in the 1951 Convention include:

• The right not to be expelled, except under certain, strictly defined conditions;
• The right not to be punished for illegal entry into the territory of a contracting State;
• The right to work;
• The right to housing;
• The right to education;
• The right to public relief and assistance;
• The right to freedom of religion;
• The right to access the courts;
• The right to freedom of movement within the territory;
• The right to be issued identity and travel documents.

Some basic rights, including the right to be protected from refoulement, apply to all refugees.

A refugee becomes entitled to other rights the longer they remain in the host country, which is based on the recognition that the longer they remain as refugees, the more rights they need.

Discover the latest stats and trends in forced displacement globally and learn how refugees and displaced people are being impacted by the climate crisis and taking action in their communities by taking this quiz.

• Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees
• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
• Relief Web
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
• World Food Programme (WFP)
• UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

The South Sudanese refugee population, with over 65% children, is the largest refugee situation in Africa. They live in precarious conditions, worsened by drought and food insecurity. This protracted situation is Africa’s largest refugee crisis. UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

*SOURCE: United Nations. Go to ORIGINAL: https://www.un.org/en/observances/refugee 2024 Human Wrongs Watch