World Refugee Day
Next: June 20, 2027
Standing with people forced to flee.
The story
Where it comes from
World Refugee Day grew out of Africa Refugee Day, long kept on 20 June in several African countries. On 4 December 2000, as a gesture of solidarity with Africa, which then hosted the most refugees, the UN General Assembly decided that from 2001, 20 June would be World Refugee Day (resolution 55/76), and the Organization of African Unity agreed to share the date. The first was held on 20 June 2001, in the 50th anniversary year of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the treaty that defines who is a refugee and protects them from being sent back to danger.
How it's celebrated
It is a reflective day rather than a festive one. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, together with governments, schools and community groups, holds events that honour the strength and courage of people forced to flee and build understanding of what they go through. It is a good day to listen to one refugee's story, to support a group that welcomes newcomers, or to send a note of solidarity.
Did you know
- UNHCR has won the Nobel Peace Prize twice, for 1954 and 1981, the only UN agency to do so.
- In 1991 Sadako Ogata became the first woman, the first Japanese person and the first academic to lead UNHCR, and she served until 2000.
- The cornerstone of the 1951 Convention is 'non-refoulement': a refugee must not be returned to a country where their life or freedom is seriously threatened.
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