World Refugee Day will be marked today (Tuesday) across the globe to honour the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.
People honour the spirit and courage of millions of refugees worldwide on World Refugee Day. It is a day to recognize the contributions of refugees in their communities.
Organizations such as Amnesty International and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) often get involved in various activities for the day. They may include activist protests against using former prisons to detain migrants and asylum-seekers.
Some communities dedicate an entire week that includes World Refugee Day to encourage people to think about the lives of refugees and the human right to a secure place to that one can see as ‘home’.
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. UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to express its solidarity with Africa on December 4, 2000.
The resolution 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) 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.
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.
