20 June – World Refugee Day

News

Every year on June 20, the world community marks World Refugee Day, approved by the UN General Assembly on December 4, 2000. The rights of refugees around the world are enshrined in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which was adopted in 1951.

The very existence of this Day means that wars do not stop throughout the world.

According to international law, refugees are people who must leave their home area due to a deadly threat from hostilities and who cannot or do not want to return to their countries and their homeland due to well-founded fears of becoming victims of persecution.

World Refugee Day glorifies the fortitude and courage of people, manifested not only in dangerous and difficult situations, as a result of which they became refugees, but also in the ability to start life anew, become valued members of society.

Most often refugees are women and children. On this Day, the society pays tribute to the willpower of millions of mothers and wives who take care of their families in the most difficult conditions.

During the armed conflict in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the civilian population living in the combat zone and near the Contact line, as well as people politically persecuted by the Ukrainian authorities for their disagreement with the political regime and the support of the Donetsk People’s Republic, suffer most. A severe military situation forces hundreds of families to flee their home areas, leaving their homes where they, for various reasons, can no longer return.

As a result of fighting, which is still continuing in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the situation with IDPs remains one of the most urgent for the state. Citizens who had to flee home as a result of the armed conflict often face the following problems: lack of housing, documents, money, food, employment problems and adaptation to the local environment, physical injuries, psychological problems, which, first of all, affect children of IDPs, elderly, persons with disabilities.

Respect for the rights of refugees is extremely important for the establishment and development of our young country. The main task of the Donetsk People’s Republic, like of any other state, is to provide all-round support to such people, to create conditions to alleviate their plight and help them adapt to new living conditions. No one should be indifferent to refugees’ problems. Therefore, it is important that everyone, where possible, assist displaced persons in employment, funding, housing, etc. Together we must do everything to ensure that people who have fled the horrors of war feel comfortable in their new place, and return to a stable life.