World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day honors the spirit and courage of millions of refugees worldwide. ©iStockphoto.com/David Snyder

What do people do?

On World Refugee Day, people honor the spirit and courage of millions of refugees worldwide. It is a day to recognize the contributions of refugees in their communities. In 2008 the world will commemorate World Refugee Day with the theme “Protecting Refugees: Rebuilding Lives in Safety and Dignity” to draw public attention to refugees who are forced to flee their homes.

Organizations such as Amnesty International and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have planned various activities for the day. They include: activist protests against using former prisons to detain migrants and asylum seekers; screenings of films about the lives of asylum seekers living in a western country; organization members visiting asylum seekers in detention to offer moral support; and letters or petitions to governments on the treatment of asylum seekers in detention.

Bay Area restaurants in the United States have pledged to support IRC in San Jose and IRC in San Francisco to commemorate World Refugee Day two days earlier through the Making Dining Out Count campaign on June 18, 2008. In Ireland, the World Refugee Day Awards, which take place on June 20, 2008, highlight the positive contribution that refugees and the local communities have made in the integration process. In Australia World Refugee Week (June 15-21) is celebrated to coincide with World Refugee Day. Australia’s Refugee Week theme of “A Place to Call Home” encourages people to think about the global themes of protection and human rights by focusing on the fundamental right to a secure place to call home. 

Public life

World Refugee Day is not a public holiday, so public life is not affected.

Background

For years, many countries and regions have been holding their own events similar to World Refugee Day. One of the most widespread events is Africa Refugee Day, which is celebrated on June 20 in many countries. As an expression of solidarity with Africa, which hosts the most refugees, and which traditionally has shown them generosity, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 55/76 on December 4, 2000.

In this resolution, the General Assembly noted 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 June 20 would be celebrated as World Refugee Day from 2001 onwards. This day was designated by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to bring attention to the plight of approximately 14 million refugees around the world.

Symbols

The UN Refugee Agency's (UNCHR) logo is often associated with the day. The colors used are either white on a blue background or blue on white background. The logo features olive branches that symbolize peace surrounding or protecting two hands facing each other, and in the middle a figure of a person protected by these hands. The logo is sometimes featured with the words “UNHCR”, followed by “The UN Refugee Agency” in smaller text to mark the logo.

The UNHCR in Canada uses a special World Refugee Day logo that features two figures – one smaller figure on the left and a taller figure on the right. They are protected by brackets or half circles. The words “World Refugee Day” are placed at the centre top of the figures, and “20 June” is placed at under the figures at the centre. All elements of the logo are the one color – green. 

World Refugee Day Observances

Other calendars

• Perpetual yearly calendar - make yearly calendar for any year
• Perpetual monthly calendar - shows only one month at a time
• Custom calendar - make customized calendars

Related links

• Moon Phase Calculator
• Find duration between two dates
• Add a number of days to a given date
• Find when you are 20000 days old - and other useless facts
• Countdown to New Year