World Refugee Day took place on June 20, 2026, under the theme “Until Everyone is Safe,” with the United Nations appealing for international solidarity during the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention amid increasing strain on the world’s asylum systems. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (U.N.H.C.R.), there are almost 42 million people worldwide who have fled their countries in search of safety from violence, persecution, or war. In total, the number of forcibly displaced individuals is about 117 million. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, who was forced to flee from Iraq when he was young, took the opportunity to make an appeal all over the world for increased efforts in protecting refugees.

“Seventy-five years ago, from the ashes of the Second World War, the world made a fundamental promise: anyone forced to flee war, conflict or persecution has the right to find safety and protection,” said Salih, introducing the 1951 Convention on Refugee Status as a promise that was made for all generations to come. But while acknowledging that this safety net is under great strain, he insisted that “human rights are not negotiable,” and, “safety should not be a privilege.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres agreed, stating that “as divisions deepen across our world, new and protracted conflicts are compelling millions of women, children and men to seek safety far from home.” Speaking from his own experience, Salih mentioned that “fleeing home to seek safety is one of the hardest choices anyone can make.” For the refugees from Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the validity of this promise is now more critical than ever before.

At the time of its 75th anniversary, the convention is facing a serious challenge of maintaining the asylum principle in almost all regions. The freedom to seek asylum, as stated in the convention and protocol of 1951 and 1967 respectively, has traditionally relied on one basic assumption: those who are forced to flee danger should never be returned to it and should have dignity even in exile. Whenever this premise is undermined, through restrictions in accessing asylum, return, or lack of resources for hosting communities, there are real effects. Women and children are forced to take dangerous routes, years of education are wasted, and countries of asylum carry more than their fair share of burden. 

The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was established following World War II when there were millions of refugees displaced across Europe, while its 1967 Protocol was created to extend the Convention worldwide, serving as the cornerstone of international refugee law. The 2026 Global Trends Report of the U.N.H.C.R., published on June 11, 2026, shows that for the first time since 2011, there has been a decline in global forced displacement, but that the number is still high in historical terms. In 2025, the number of individuals returned home was 14.7 million, though there was massive displacement due to crises in Sudan, where the number of displaced individuals is 9.1 million inside the country, and other places, including Lebanon and Iran.

Moving forward, Salih has outlined what the U.N.H.C.R. refers to as the “50 by 35” vision, which aims to reduce the number of refugees caught up in protracted displacement and needing humanitarian aid by half in the next decade, especially through increased access to education, employment, health services, and social protection in the host countries. Moreover, the U.N.H.C.R. has released its Projected Global Resettlement Needs for 2027, estimating that 2.4 million refugees will need resettlement in the coming year, while the available slots remain inadequate. The theme of this year’s World Refugee Day centers on mobilizing the youth, portraying asylum as a shared safety net for both those who are most vulnerable now and potentially all of us in the future. “Until everyone is safe, none of us are safe,” Salih stated. For the 42 million people who are displaced from their country of origin, it remains to be seen if the nearly 75-year-old commitment to the Refugee Convention will be fulfilled in this generation.