On World Refugee Day know your rights

• There are 29.4 million refugees worldwide. 
• Approximately 4 million refugees seek asylum in other countries. 
• On World Refugee Day, know your rights.

Every year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a date on which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees highlights efforts to improve the conditions for all refugees around the world.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, it is estimated that there are 29.4 million refugees worldwide — of these, four million seek refuge in other countries. In honor of this day, know your rights as a refugee.

World Refugee Day: Who are refugees?

According to the United Nations, refugees are all those individuals who have left their country of origin due to persecution of a political, social or religious nature, armed conflicts, violence derived from social struggles or any other circumstance requiring international protection.

In 2022, a total of 108.4 million people were displaced from their countries of origin for different reasons, one of them being the armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Given this, it is necessary to be familiar with the organizations and laws that protect the rights of all those who seek refugee status anywhere in the world.

3. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not specifically focused on refugees, but it does establish laws and agreements to guarantee their well-being. Article 3 stands out as it guarantees the right of refugees to seek and enjoy security outside their country of origin. Article 9 also protects refugees from being arbitrarily detained or expelled from a country.

Article 16 of the Declaration of Human Rights establishes that all refugees have the right to form a family, while article 21 guarantees the possibility of participating in the electoral processes of their country of origin, if they wish.

2. World Refugee Day: The United Nations convention

On World Refugee Day, it is important to know the treaties created to protect displaced groups. One of them is the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees, which originated in 1951 in Geneva Switzerland, in order to find a solution to the massive displacements that occurred after the Second World War. In it, both the rights and obligations of both refugees and their nations are established.

One of the main objectives of this treaty is to provide protection to refugees who have had to leave their countries due to fear of persecution for racial, social, religious or political reasons. It prohibits sending any refugee back to the country from which they left, regardless of when or why they made the decision to seek refuge in another country.

1. The convention for immigrant workers

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families is a treaty that originated in 1990. It has the support of the General Assembly of the United Nations, which seeks to protect of migrant workers and their families. It includes points such as equal treatment as well as protection against exploitation and abuse.

It also stipulates that refugees and immigrants have right to occupational health and safety as well as the ability to form unions. It also seeks to promote family reunification, which includes spouses and minor children, who will have the possibility of living in the refugee’s country of employment.