asylum

World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day 2021 focuses on the power of inclusion.

The shared experience of COVID-19 has showed us that we only succeed if we stand together. We have all had to do our part to keep each other safe and despite the challenges, refugees and displaced people have stepped up.

Given the chance, refugees will continue to contribute to a stronger, safer and more vibrant world. Therefore UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s World Refugee Day campaign this year is calling for the greater inclusion of refugees in health systems, schools and sport. Only by working together can we recover from the pandemic. Together we heal, learn and shine.

Background

Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. There are several types of forcibly displaced persons:

Refugees

  • A refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”, according to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters.

Asylum Seekers

  • Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled.

Internally Displaced Persons

  • Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country.

Stateless Persons

  • Stateless persons do not have a recognized nationality and do not belong to any country. Statelessness situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification — a citizenship certificate — can exclude them from access to important government services, including health care, education or employment.

Returnees

  • Returnees are former refugees who return to their own countries or regions of origin after time in exile. Returnees need continuous support and reintegration assistance to ensure that they can rebuild their lives at home.

To learn more about how/why the UN commemorates this observance, including how the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol helps protect refugees, explore un.org/en/observances/refugee-day.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. 

Film [Wake Up On Mars] and Conversation [The impact of migration on mental health]

NOTE: You may watch the film now and until 6PM of 22 July 2020.

Watch this powerful documentary and take part in an engaging discussion!

Ciné-ONU Geneva, Brussels and Vienna invite you to an exceptional

ONLINE EDITION

WAKE UP ON MARS

In Sweden, a family from Kosovo faces the rejection of their asylum application. The result is the trauma of the two girls, victims of the “resignation syndrome”, which plunges them into a long coma. Faced with this situation, Furkan, aged 10 and the youngest child in the family, shows incredible resilience and sets out to build a spaceship as a horizon to all possibilities.

How to participate in 2 easy steps:

    First: watch the movie

Link : https://vimeo.com/437834527

Password: wuom2020
Valid until 22 July 2020 at 6 p.m.

Second: join the discussion Wednesday 22 July at 5 p.m. (CET) on “The impact of migration on mental health.”

Link: https://rtce-unog.webex.com/rtce-unog/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3df79abd4ab880907871490688f8fdee

With:

  •    Dea Gjinovci, Director, Wake Up on Mars
  •     Dr. Elisabeth Hultcrantz, Professor emerita, Linköping University
  •     Pieter Ventevogel, Senior Mental Health Officer, UNHCR
  •     Moderator:  Martin Nesirky, Director, UN Information Service, Vienna

You will be able to ask your questions live or send them to us by email atcineonu@un.org.

With the support of: Centre d’Accueil de la Genève Internationale (CAGI) | Geneva International Welcome Centre

NGO Liaison Unit

Political Affairs and Partnerships Section
Office of the Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva
Palais des Nations
T: +41 22 917 1304 / 2178 | F: +41 22 917 0583
(New) E: unog.ngo@un.org
www.ungeneva.org