Observing World Refugee Day

Observing World Refugee Day

Every minute, 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. 20th June is dedicated to raising awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world. Since the UN resolution from December 2000, it has been designated as World Refugee Day. Each year, the United Nations, United Nations Refugee Agency and countless civic groups around the world host events in order to raise public awareness. In Slovakia, several refugee camps will host public events marking this day.

Of the nearly 70 million refugees, 25.4 million are those who have left their homes as a result of conflicts and persecution. Compared to 2016, this represents an increase of 2.9 million people, and it was the highest increase in one year that the UNHCR has ever seen. At the same time, the number of asylum seekers increased by 300,000 and amounted to 3.1 million people. On the other hand, the number of asylum applications in the European Union in 2018 fell by about ten percent compared to the previous year. This stems from the Report on the Implementation of the Tasks, Intentions and Objectives of the Migration Policy for 2018. In 2019, Slovakia has so far registered around 90 asylum applications, only two of which have been approved.

According to the Slovak Interior minister, Denisa Saková, one of the most important tools for combating illegal migration should be a functioning system of returns. Saková thinks that cooperation with third countries is the basis for the success of returns. The European Union is currently trying to streamline the process of returning failed asylum seekers back to their home countries.

Zuzana Botiková, Photo: AP/TASR

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