On World Refugee Day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates affirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of Palestine refugees to return and compensation as guaranteed by international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, specifically United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 194(III) and 237.
The Ministry will continue to work with all parties to promote and realize the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of Palestine refugees to return to their homes. The Ministry will also maintain its efforts to urgently secure the return of 1.9 million Palestinians forcibly displaced in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing genocide and confront the widespread and systematic efforts of the occupying power to ethnically cleanse and annex the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Furthermore, the Ministry will continue to work with all partners to protect the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and ensure its ability to continue executing its UN mandate, including providing vital services to Palestine refugees.
The international community has a legal, political, and moral responsibility to ensure that the occupying power ends their aggression against the Palestinian people, end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, and stop its colonial violence against the Palestinian people that attempts to erase and replace the Palestinian people.
World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on 20 June and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.
World Refugee Day shines a light on the rights, needs, and dreams of refugees, helping to mobilize political will and resources so refugees can not only survive but thrive. While it is important to protect and improve the lives of refugees every single day, international days like World Refugee Day help to focus global attention on the plight of those fleeing conflict or persecution. Many activities held on World Refugee Day create opportunities to support refugees.
World Refugee Day falls each year on 20 June and is dedicated to refugees around the globe. World Refugee Day was held globally for the first time on 20 June 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It was originally known as Africa Refugee Day, before the United Nations General Assembly officially designated it as an international day in December 2000.
Each year, World Refugee Day is marked by a variety of events in many countries around the globe in support of refugees. These activities are led by or involve refugees themselves, government officials, host communities, companies, celebrities, school children, and the general public, among others.
Source: Palestine Embassy – Islamabad.