Credit ;Deveron Projects , Illustrated by Jacques Coetzer
World Refugee Day is held every year on June 20 to raise awareness about the plight of refugees around the world. It is held to show solidarity with those who have been displaced and to honor their resilience and determination to keep their families safe. The day is also marked to draw the public’s attention to the millions of refugees and Internally displaced persons worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes due to war, climate disaster, political instability conflict and persecution.only to become trapped in rigid systems that make the possibility of starting a new life a distant dream, systems that seek to strip people of their humanity and reduce people to numbers.
It is also a day to remember that throughout history and across the world, life can change in an instant.
75 years ago, after the devastation of the Second World War, the world came together and made a promise. People forced to flee war and persecution would not be left without protection.
That promise became the 1951 Refugee Convention. And it was made for all of us.
World Refugee Day came into being in 2000 when the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 55/76 decided on December 4, 2000 that June 20 would be marked as World Refugee Day. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol help protect them.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2025 – roughly one in every seventy people on the planet.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2025 – roughly one in every seventy people on the planet.
This year’s UN theme, “Until Everyone Is Safe”, is rooted in the 1951 Refugee Convention and reminds us that protection is essential. Refugees, especially children and young people, continue to face disrupted learning, reduced access to essential services and increasing protection risks as support systems come under strain. Displacement often means losing a home, school, income, safety and support systems all at once.
The theme is a reminder that safety is not a privilege reserved for the few but a fundamental right – the right to life and to a life lived in dignity. For as long as people are forced to flee conflict, climate change or persecution, our shared responsibility endures.
The 1951 Convention carries a universal message: a person forced to seek refuge beyond their borders does not lose their rights or their dignity. It affirms that refugees must be able to live in safety, access education, work, take part in community life and look to the future with hope.
These foundations are under growing strain. In recent years, States have witnessed a troubling trend towards closed borders, deterrence policies and the externalisation of asylum procedures. In many contexts, the principle of non-refoulement – the cornerstone guarantee that no one should be returned to danger – is being eroded, leaving people in already vulnerable situations exposed to even greater risk. Today’s displacement crisis is shaped by a number of severe and protracted emergencies. Official figures reveal that around seven in ten refugees come from just a handful of countries: Venezuela, the occupied Palestinian territory, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan and South Sudan.
Sudan also remains the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, with over nine million people uprooted inside the country. To these must now be added the rapidly worsening displacement in Lebanon and Iran, where recent escalation has forced more than a million people from their homes.
A refugee is someone who has fled to a different country to escape war or persecution. Most people who are displaced, even through conflict, stay in their own country. This is the country they have known and have ties too. Many also hope to return home one day when the threat of violence has passed. As such, they do not want to move far away. Families in this situation can end up in camps for Internally Displaced People (IDPs).
The UNHCR estimates that 70% of refugees stay in countries neighbouring their country of origin. This is not surprising as many people want to stay closer to home if they can. Plus the journeys that refugees are forced to make to find safety can be long and very dangerous.
Around 76% of refugees are hosted in countries with low or middle income. The poorest countries in the world have 9% of the world’s population, but they host 16% of refugees.
It is impossible to imagine or even understand the life of the displaced unless you experience it first. The helplessness one feels when he loses everything (landmarks, material possessions) and on top of that, the uncertainty of a better tomorrow.
Children make up around 30% of the world population. This means that children are disproportionately affected by displacement. Many children flee with their families, but some lose their families and become unaccompanied refugees, or internally displaced people.
The climate crisis is becoming a cause for displacement. People have been forced to leave their homes in the past due to weather events such as flooding, storms or drought. However, as such events become more severe due to climate change, more people are seeing their homes destroyed this way. They can then be forced to move elsewhere, particularly if there’s no prospect for rebuilding.
In some countries, the changing climate is destroying livelihoods. People who live on the land are increasingly seeing their farms and food sources destroyed by droughts, floods or storms. These people, known as climate migrants, then have to move to towns and cities to seek aid and new livings.
We have seen this in Somalia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and more. And in a recent news story, an entire island in Panama was evacuated due to rising water levels. As the climate crisis continues unabated, there is likely to be an increase in the number people forced to flee their homes.
Under the United Nations Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who has fled their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution and is unable or unwilling to return for protection.To qualify as a refugee, individuals must demonstrate that their fear of persecution is based on specific factors such as race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
An asylum seeker is someone who has arrived in a country and formally requested asylum. Until a decision is made on their refugee status, they remain an asylum seeker. In the UK, asylum seekers do not have the same rights as refugees or British citizens, meaning, for example, that they are not permitted to work.
Seeking asylum is a legal right available to everyone. It is not illegal to seek asylum, as it is a recognised legal process. Likewise, being refused asylum is not a criminal act – it simply means that the strict criteria required to qualify as a refugee have not been met.
The key distinction between refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) is whether they cross an international border in search of safety. Refugees leave their home country to escape persecution, war, or violence, seeking refuge beyond national boundaries. In contrast, IDPs are forced to flee their homes due to similar threats but remain within their own country’s borders.
Many refugees and asylum seekers face severe difficulties once they arrive in the UK. Unable to work or support themselves, many struggle for basics such as food and shelter. families struggle to survive on just £5.84 a day. Some of the key issues they encounter are the possibility of detention, living in destitution and contending with negative stereotypes/
Most of those who are granted asylum are given leave to remain for only five years, making it difficult for them to make decisions about their future, including finding work and making definite plans for their life in the UK while it remains unsafe for them to return to the country they escaped from.
On June 17, 2026, the EU passed a new “Return Regulation”, which will bring much more severe ‘remigration’ enforcement across the continent, allowing states to refuse, mistreat and deport people seeking refuge in Europe.
As fellow humans we have a responsibility to respond to their specific needs in times of crisis. Many of these asylum seekers come to us as a last resort, having exhausted all alternatives, with nowhere else to turn. We should also remember all those suffering abuse in detention centres and those facing repatriation despite the dangers that they face.
Refugees endure numerous hardships, from the trauma of displacement to difficulties accessing vital resources and adjusting to new communities. These challenges span immediate concerns, such as securing shelter and food, to long-term struggles like language barriers, unemployment, and mental health issues.
For more than 41 million refugees today, the right to seek safety is a lifeline. It can mean the difference between life and death. In an unpredictable world, it is a promise that must be protected.
Refugees are too often spoken of only as victims. Yet their journeys are also journeys of resilience, resourcefulness and hope. Every displaced person carries a story of loss, but also of extraordinary resilience. We should not see as a burden, but as our brothers or sisters.
Solidarity is not charity from a distance; it’s the recognition that none of us is safe until everyone is safe. We should urge governments to uphold the letter and the spirit of the Refugee Convention.
States should respect their obligations under the 1951 Convention and translate them into concrete policies of protection, not deterrence.
As long as people are forced to flee, our collective responsibility remains. Statistics from Amnesty International show that many refugees who have fled conflict, persecution, hostile environment or disease remain in volatile conditions. Even refugees who sought a better life and made the extremely dangerous journey to Europe face open hostility and daily injustices. Refugees stranded in camps and at borders have been challenged more than ever before with the toughest of living conditions and a hostile reception at international borders.
Nothing can be more heartbreaking than having to flee the place you have been born and brought up in, 70 million people are currently displaced from their homes on account of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations, of these, approximately 25 million are refugees, over half of whom are children under the age of 18, having being forced to leave their home country and take perilous journeys to cross international and national boundaries in search of safety elsewhere.
Nothing can be more heartbreaking than having to flee the place you have been born and brought up in, 70 million people are currently displaced from their homes on account of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations, of these, approximately 25 million are refugees, over half of whom are children under the age of 18, having being forced to leave their home country and take perilous journeys to cross international and national boundaries in search of safety elsewhere.
A far larger number of people are displaced within their own country (internally displaced) or displaced for reasons which go beyond persecution and conflict, including drought, hunger, environmental disasters and the effects of climate change. In this context, World Refugee Day takes on ever-greater importance as a point in the year to remember, learn more about and explore ways of addressing the situation of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons.
The persecution of refugees continues, whipped up by forces of racism spreading fear and misinformation. As continuing tragedy unfolds, some of the countries most able to help are shutting their gates to people seeking asylum. Borders are closing, push backs are increasing, and hostility is rising. Avenues for legitimate escape are fading away.
The persecution of refugees continues, whipped up by forces of racism spreading fear and misinformation. As continuing tragedy unfolds, some of the countries most able to help are shutting their gates to people seeking asylum. Borders are closing, push backs are increasing, and hostility is rising. Avenues for legitimate escape are fading away.
Since the beginnings of civilization, we have treated refugees as deserving of our protection. Whatever our differences, we have to recognise our fundamental human obligation to shelter those fleeing from war and persecution. It is time to stop hiding behind misleading words.
Richer nations must acknowledge refugees for the victims they are, fleeing from wars they were unable to prevent or stop. History has shown that doing the right thing for victims of war and persecution engenders goodwill and prosperity for generations. And it fosters stability in the long run.
We must remember that arms trade helps exacerbate the crisis, plus poverty and inequality, war and conflict. Refugees have suffered unimaginable loss, and yet they are filled with the strength to triumph over adversity. The refugee crisis is a human crisis. Their story is our story. We are all human,and together, we can build a better world.We all have an important role in ensuring that refugees have the support they need. When we work together, we can help even more people feel safe from conflict, stay healthy and forge ahead to a better, stronger future.
Today and tomorrow we must continue to stand up for refugees. We must and play our part in continuing to challenge the injustices and inequalities that fuel and helps further exacerbate this ongoing crisis, and promote a better understanding of why people seek sanctuary. It is vital more than ever that we ensure that people seeking refugee protection remain visible and heard and are welcomed. to provide an important opportunity for asylum seekers and refugees to be seen, listened to and valued.
Today and tomorrow we must continue to stand up for refugees. We must and play our part in continuing to challenge the injustices and inequalities that fuel and helps further exacerbate this ongoing crisis, and promote a better understanding of why people seek sanctuary. It is vital more than ever that we ensure that people seeking refugee protection remain visible and heard and are welcomed. to provide an important opportunity for asylum seekers and refugees to be seen, listened to and valued.
We must continue to offer our love , solidarity, tolerance, warm welcome and friendship to refugees who daily have to struggle, many of whom left feeling traumatised and marginalised. Refugees are ordinary people to whom extraordinary and often very horrible things have happened.
The world needs to renew its commitment now to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its principles that made us strong. To offer safe harbor, both in our own countries and in the epicentres of the crises, and to help refugees restore their lives, and allow their voices to remain visible and heard, build bridges not more obstacles or borders.It is in solidarity, hope and the recognition of our shared humanity that we continue to defend the 1951 Refugee Convention, especially on its 75th anniversary.
I support free movement and equal rights for all. We should support the rights and dignity of those escaping persecution, war, fleeing in fear, escaping danger, in search of safety, a better future. It is essential that we offer a safe have for desperate refugees, offering them protection and dignity.
Imagine a world free of borders, it's easy if you try, the sky has none, there is only one world. no borders are necessary.No human is illegal.
“Solidarity is the concrete recognition that the future of each individual is connected to the future of all”. – Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas (paragraph 73)
Denounced - persecuted - exiled - dispersed -
Refused - sectioned - detained - certified -
Wherever they seek shelter
They should be able to call home
Having escaped dark shadows
Having travelled through great adversity
Seeking safe harbour,
All should be given warm welcome
Asylum not stigmatisation
Protection not shame
Dignity not criminalisation
Breathe again, beyond pain and grief
No Borders are necessary.
