20 June: World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day is observed on 20th June to build empathy and understanding for the plight of refugees and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

The theme for this year’s observation of the Day is “Whoever. Wherever. Whenever. Everyone has the right to seek safety”.
- Whoever they are, people forced to flee should be treated with dignity. Anyone can seek protection, regardless of who they are or what they believe. It is non-negotiable: seeking safety is a human right.
- Wherever they come from, people forced to flee should be welcomed. Refugees come from all over the globe. To get out of harm’s way, they might take a plane, a boat, or travel on foot. What remains universal is the right to seek safety.
- Whenever people are forced to flee, they have a right to be protected. Whatever the threat – war, violence, persecution – everyone deserves protection.
- Everyone has a right to be safe.
The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol help protect refugees around the world.

Refugee in India

India has nearly 300,000 people categorised as refugees.
But India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention or the 1967 Protocol. Nor does India have a refugee policy or a refugee law of its own.
The closest India has come to a refugee policy in recent years is the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, which discriminates between refugees on the basis of religion in offering them Indian citizenship.