World Refugee Day: June 20
For years, many countries and regions have been holding their own Refugee Days and even weeks. One of the most widespread is Africa Refugee Day, which is celebrated on June 20. As an expression of solidarity with Africa, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 55/76 on 4 December 2000. The resolution acknowledges that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had agreed to have International Refugee Day coincide with Africa Refugee Day on June 20. The Assembly therefore decided that, from 2001, June 20 would be celebrated as World Refugee Day.
African Refugee Day had been formally celebrated in several countries prior to 2000. In the Roman Catholic Church, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees is celebrated in January each year, having been instituted in 1914 by Pope Pius X.
Celebrations From June 18-20 the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) commemorates World Refugee Day in Washington, DC, in order to draw the public’s attention to the millions of refugees world-wide who are forced to flee their homes. Each year, UNHCR selects a theme and coordinates events across the globe. This year’s theme is “Real People, Real Needs,” and focuses on the global economic crisis. Acording to UNHCR, 42 million people around the world lack the essentials of life — clean water, food, health care, sanitation,shelter, and protection fromviloence and abuse.
See IntLawGrrls for an informative post about World Refugee Day. The link above includes a number of links to relevant documents and information on refugees.
KJ