On World Refugee Day, the United States renews our commitment to providing relief to the world’s refugees and commends the world’s brave humanitarians, who take daily risks to administer food, shelter and medicine to those who desperately need help. We stand with them and with millions worldwide who seek basic safety and security in which to live and work.
Sixty years ago, the world’s leaders gathered to affirm the basic principle that those who flee persecution deserve refuge. The 1951 Refugee Convention stands as a landmark in defining the rights of refugees and the obligations of states to protect them. Together with the important work of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Convention reminds us that those who may lack protections due to conflict or repression still deserve recognition of their full rights and human dignity.
