World Refugee Day-20 June: Solidarity with Refugees

Policy Update
Kumar Ankit

Background

World Refugee Day (June 20) was established by the United Nations to commemorate the millions who are forced to escape persecution and war. The day was first marked on 20 June 2001, to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention and transitioned from an earlier observance of “Africa Refugee Day” to “World Refugee Day” after the UN General Assembly’s designation in 2000. In highlighting the “rights, needs, and dreams of refugees” every year, the aim of World Refugee Day is to galvanize political will and funding to protect refugees.

Over the past two decades, World Refugee Day has become an occasion for advocacy and solidarity events around the world that engage governments, the host community, NGOs, and refugees. As such, it has become a touchstone for those who want to acknowledge both progress and outstanding gaps in the international regime of refugee protection.

Theme 2025: “Solidarity” 

The theme for 2025, “Solidarity with Refugees,” indicates a message calling for a collective response rather than compassion alone. UNHCR describes solidarity as “honoring refugees not just in words but by trusting their stories, giving them a place in society, and defending their rights.”

Since solidarity involves listening to and defending rights, solidarity as a practice means that states and societies will allocate the resources, policies, and practices necessary to protect refugees: access to asylum, welcoming the new, and ending conflict. Solidarity also requires engaging against xenophobia, making empathy more concrete, and ultimately being supportive in context.

As UNHCR’s campaign page emphasizes, solidarity means saying courageously that refugees are “not alone” and that the world will “not turn its back” on them.

  • Each year, UNHCR decides to highlight a theme. Some recent themes include:
  • 2021: Together we heal, learn, and shine.
  • 2022: Whoever, Whatever, Whenever. Everyone has the right to seek safety.
  • 2023: Hope Away from Home.
  • 2024: Solidarity with refugees. For a world where refugees are welcomed.

Global Refugee Statistics (2024–2025)

Forced displacement is at unprecedented levels. About 123.2 million were forcibly displaced due to conflict, persecution, or violence in 2024. This figure included about 36.8 million refugees (people who crossed an international border) and 73.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). The UNHCR reported that in April 2025, the total forcibly displaced population was approximately 122.1 million, still an all-time high. Refugees alone numbered approximately 42.7 million early in 2025, acknowledging some modest returns but with an increasing number relative to 2020.

Nearly 70% of all refugees come from just five countries: Venezuela (6.2M), Syria (6.0M), Afghanistan (5.8M), Ukraine (5.1M), and South Sudan (2.3M). Some new crises have also exploded; for example, the 2023 conflict in Sudan generated an estimated 14.3 million displaced (refugees and IDPs), making it the world’s largest displacement crisis. Other high-casualty conflicts, in Myanmar (Rohingya), Ethiopia, the Sahel, and elsewhere, have also sent large numbers fleeing.

Crucially, most refugees remain in the global South: about 73% are hosted by low- and middle-income countries. Over one-third of the world’s refugees are found in five countries alone: Iran (~3.5M), Turkey (~2.9M), Colombia (~2.8M), Germany (~2.7M), and Uganda (~1.8M). For example, Turkey and its neighbouring states continue to shelter millions of Syrians, while Uganda and Bangladesh host large refugee populations from South Sudan and Myanmar, respectively.

Another 67% of refugees live in countries bordering their homes, reflecting the pattern that people usually flee just across a frontier. The statistics reinforce the disproportionate costs to poorer host nations, as well as the overall magnitude of the global displacement crisis that lies ahead of us as we get to World Refugee Day 2025.

Drivers of Forced Displacement

Although the biggest drivers of refugee flows are armed conflict and persecution, from Sudan to Syria and Myanmar to Ukraine, armed conflict has caused the displacement of entire populations. The Syrian civil war, which has lasted for more than a decade, has generated more than 6 million refugees, most of whom fled to neighbouring countries. Similarly, the protracted armed conflicts in Afghanistan and South Sudan have resulted in millions remaining exiled for years.

Violent instability in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria (Boko Haram), the Central African Republic, and the Sahel has generated large internal and cross-border displacement. Even when direct war subsides, instability, persecution, or failed states (as in the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan) continue to drive people out of their homes.

Ethnic and religious persecution is another key driver. The Rohingya minority from Myanmar is a stark example: stateless and violently expelled, nearly 1 million live as refugees in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Other minority groups (e.g., in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and the African Horn states) also flee systemic discrimination or targeted violence. In general, where governments collapse or are unwilling to protect certain communities, civilians resort to flight to save their lives and liberty.

Climate and environmental factors are an emerging driver of displacement. Severe weather events such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires, force millions to move annually (typically as internally displaced persons). For instance, each year, climate-related disasters in countries like the Philippines, India, Kenya, and Haiti create vast internal uprooting. While many of these people do not cross borders (and thus are not counted as “refugees” under UN conventions), the UN recognises that climate change is compounding displacement pressures.

Sea level rise threatens entire island nations (e.g., Kiribati, Marshall Islands), and rural drought pushes farmers from Sahelian Africa and Central America to migrate. Importantly, the 1951 Refugee Convention’s criteria (persecution on race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion) do not explicitly cover those displaced by climate or natural disasters.

Where climate harms intersect with violence or violate basic rights, refugee status must apply. There is a gap: climate-displaced people (climate migrants) lack a dedicated protection framework under international refugee law (need for the recognition of climate refugees), leaving many dependent on domestic or ad hoc solutions.

Refugee Law: 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol

Refugees are protected under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (with its 1967 Protocol). This treaty defines who is a refugee and sets obligations for the states. Article 1(b) of the convention defines a refugee as someone who has fled their country “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted” on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. The definition was originally confined to circumstances, events, and actions pre-1951 in Europe; the 1967 Protocol removed the limitation on time and place. Currently, over 150 states are parties to one or both of these instruments, which together form the foundation of legally recognised refugee protection.

Most significantly, the Convention enshrines the principle of non-refoulement: no refugee shall be returned (“refouled”) to a country where they would have reason to fear for their life or freedom. The principle of non-refoulement has been considered as customary international law. The Convention also grants refugees rights to basic protections and the dignity of life: for example, rights to non-discrimination, the right to work, to shelter and property, to education, to freedom of religion, and access to the courts.

If refugees seek to enter a country irregularly, they shall not be punishable provided they present themselves without delay and can receive identity documents and travel papers as per Articles 27-28. In practical terms, these rights suggest that asylum seekers should have the right to settle, seek employment or vocational training, enrol their children in school, and live freely from the spectre of political persecution in the host country. The Convention thus not only forbids expelling refugees (except under strict conditions) but also imposes on states a duty to uphold a minimum standard of care and freedom.

Regional instruments in Africa and Latin America expanded on the 1951 Convention. For instance, the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention (now AU) defines refugees to include those fleeing events “seriously disturbing public order,” and the 1984 Cartagena Declaration (Americas) likewise cites “generalised violence” and “massive human rights violations.” These broader definitions can cover people fleeing civil war or state collapse, even if not individually persecuted. UNHCR notes that such regional frameworks can, in some cases, protect people displaced by disasters or climate-related crises, since those often meet the “disturbing public order” test. However, such protection depends on regional law rather than the 1951 Convention itself.

In short, while the Convention and Protocol provide strong rights for recognised refugees, they leave gaps: specifically, they do not cover those displaced solely by climate or by humanitarian catastrophe without persecution. (Similarly, internally displaced persons, by definition still within their country, fall outside the Convention’s scope.) As a result, climate-displaced people and many internally uprooted people remain outside the formal refugee regime and must rely on other legal tools (such as human rights law or new national policies) for protection.

Regional Refugee Crises

Refugee flows vary by region, but major crises persist on every continent:

Africa: Conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and elsewhere have produced some of the largest populations of refugees and IDPs. Some 14.3 million people have taken refuge owing to the 2023 war in Sudan. Over 2.3 million South Sudanese remain in exile. Uganda hosts nearly 1.4 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan and DR Congo. The insurgencies in the Sahel region have many from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Burundi, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic have outflows and inflows tied to local instability.


Crucially, many African nations are both origin and host: for example, South Sudan (a source of exiles) hosts ~0.5 million refugees (mostly from Sudan) while sheltering internally displaced persons. African governments and UN agencies also face internal displacement crises (e.g., more than 7 million IDPs in DR Congo), compounding the humanitarian emergency.

West Asia: Roughly 6.1 million refugees have been accounted for as a result of Syria’s civil war, mainly in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Yemen’s civil war, ongoing since 2015, has displaced over 6 million internally and sent hundreds of thousands across borders (e.g., Somali and Ethiopian migration). Iraq and Libya remain fragile and host displaced minorities. Around 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees have been in protracted displacement since 1948. Many refugees seek asylum in countries like Iran, Lebanon, and Jordan. Overall, two of every five refugees globally are in West Asia & North Africa host countries, even though those states have limited resources.

Asia and the Pacific: Afghanistan’s decades of war (recently Afghanistan itself under the Taliban) produced about 5.8 million Afghan refugees, mostly in Pakistan and Iran. The 2021 repatriations aside, millions remain abroad. Southeast Asia faces its challenges: Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis (persecution of the Muslim minority) saw nearly 800,000 flee to Bangladesh by 2020, with thousands more in Malaysia, India, and elsewhere.

Violence in Myanmar’s border regions also displaces ethnic minorities (Karen, Chin, etc.) to Thailand, India, and Bangladesh. Other Asia-Pacific displacements include Sri Lankan Tamils (historically) and low-level flows from North Korea. Asia has a community of exiles in countries such as China (e.g., Uighurs and Tibetans). Finally, climate vulnerability looms large for Pacific Islanders, some of whom are already relocating as their atoll homes become uninhabitable (though these are largely internal migrations, not yet refugees per se).

Europe: The Russia-Ukraine war has created Europe’s biggest displacement since WWII. By the end of 2024, there were an estimated 5.1 million registered refugees from Ukraine across the continent. Europe has mounted an extensive humanitarian response (e.g., the EU temporary protection directive), but strains remain as host countries provide for long-term needs. Apart from Ukraine, Europe remains a destination for asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East (e.g., via Mediterranean routes to Greece, Italy, and Spain), though numbers have stabilised or declined in recent years.

Germany, for instance, hosts large refugee populations from Syria and Eritrea and smaller but growing numbers from Afghanistan and Venezuela. In brief, Europe today juggles one very large refugee presence (Ukraine) and ongoing processing of new asylum claims from other conflicts.

Americas: The Americas face their protracted displacement challenges. Most prominent is the Venezuelan exodus: economic collapse and political crisis have driven over 6.8 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees abroad (per IOM/UNHCR estimates). Colombia hosts roughly 1.8 million Venezuelans (making it one of the top hosts globally), and Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina each host hundreds of thousands more. Meanwhile, displacement also occurs due to violence and disasters: Central American migrants fleeing gangs (Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala) head north, while Haitians have fled poverty and political chaos.

The United States and Canada receive many asylum seekers; Mexico receives Central American claims; and Brazil hosts Venezuelans and others. Though much of this movement is classified as “mixed migration,” for many, it equates to refugee-like flight. The region also contains protracted situations (e.g., Colombians displaced by civil war, who number millions, and Chilean exiles from Pinochet-era conflicts, etc.). In short, the Americas are both a source (Venezuelans) and a destination for refugees in global terms.

Humanitarian Challenges for Refugees 

Today, refugees face multiple humanitarian crises around education, health, shelter, hygiene, and legal protection. Access to education is severely limited; over half of school-aged refugees, more than 7 million, are out of school, and among refugees who are youth, only 7% have access to tertiary education. Health and hygiene services are often scant.

The conditions which refugees are subject to, is quite appalling. Overcrowded camps or informal settlements with no access to clean water, proper sanitation, or health care, exposes refugees to the vulnerabilities of diseases. The conditions regarding shelter are no better for numerous families who have been displaced. Exploring the protection challenges adds further complexity to the humanitarian crisis faced by refugees.

A report from the UNHCR states that around 31,200 asylum-seekers are likely to be detained, thereby, arresting their freedom, security and rights. Statelessness exacerbates the crisis, with around 4.4 million individuals having no nationality, which affords them a legal identity or fundamental rights, particularly education and health care. These sobering statistics highlight the need for corresponding policy action to provide access to education, health care, safe housing, and guaranteed legal protection for displaced people.

Turning Empathy into Action

World Refugee Day is more than a symbolic day; it serves as a reminder that international solidarity needs to be supported in tangible terms. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reminds us that “the numbers are beyond statistics; they are a call for action to each and every one of us.” Turning empathy into action means governments must uphold refugee rights by enacting fair asylum procedures, providing schooling and health care to refugees, and upholding the convention’s protections, such as non‑refoulement.

It also means donors must finance UN and local aid programs to meet rising needs. Campaigns of inclusion, like hosting refugee professionals in national labour markets or granting driver’s licenses, for example, should shift to the mainstream.
Richer nations must step up resettlement and assistance: by 2025, appeals by UNHCR and partners estimate a shortfall of billions in funding. In sum, World Refugee Day 2025 calls on policymakers, academics, and citizens alike to transform solidarity into shared policies. It is only by acting on global compassion that the international community will be able to honour its commitments and make solidarity with refugees a reality rather than simply an expression of goodwill. 

World Refugee Day serves not just as a Memorial Day, but a day of action.
Each refugee statistic conceals a halted human life: a delay in dreams, a lost home, and a family torn apart. There is an enduring and exacting beauty in the stories of bravery, resilience, and the desire to live. As global citizens, we have a responsibility to move from empathy to solidarity because when we protect refugees, we are protecting the basic human values of compassion, justice, and hope.

References

About the Author:

Kumar Ankit is a Research Intern at IMPRI, New Delhi, and has previously interned for the National Maritime Foundation and IISPPR. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Political Science from Jamia Millia Islamia University and has qualified for UGC-NET in Politics including International Relations/International Studies. He holds postgraduate diplomas in International Law & Diplomacy from the Indian Society of International Law and in Iranology from Jamia Millia Islamia. His interests include International Law, International Relations, Maritime Geopolitics, and the Geopolitics of Rare Earth and Critical Minerals.

Acknowledgement:

 The author sincerely thanks Aasthaba Jadeja and IMPRI fellows for their valuable contribution.

Disclaimer: 

All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organization.

Read more at IMPRI:

Key Initiatives of the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) in Advancing Social Empowerment
Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) 2.0 : Progress and Prospects, 2025

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