Spare a thought for refugees on United Nations World Refugee Day.

Vatican News.

Speaking during las Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Francis expressed his great sadness and sorrow over migrants who drowned on Wednesday after their overloaded boat capsized and sank in open seas off Greece. Several hundreds more are still missing and feared.

What is the UN World Refugee Day?

The United Nations 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 is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

2023 Theme: Hope Away from Home

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 other than the one they call home within their own country.

Stateless Persons

Stateless persons do not have a recognised nationality and do not belong to any country.

Statelessness situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification — a citizenship card, 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.

Sept. 2023: 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees

The Catholic Church will celebrate the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sunday, 24 September 2023 with the theme, "Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay."

The Day is observed every year on the last Sunday of September as an occasion to express support and concern for people who are forced to flee their homes, to encourage Catholics worldwide to remember and pray for those displaced by conflict and persecution, and increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers. The day was first celebrated in 1914.

(Additional information: United Nations)