African Refugee Day

For years, many countries and regions have celebrated a national refugee day - even weeks. One of the best known was African Refugee Day, which is celebrated on June 20 in several countries. As an expression of solidarity with Africa, the continent that hosts the majority of the world's refugees, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 55/76 on December 4, 2000.

In this resolution, the General Assembly noted that the year 2001 would mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had agreed that the celebration of an international refugee day could coincide with that of Refugee Day in Africa, which is observed on June 20. It therefore decided that, as of 2001, June 20 should be World Refugee Day.