Syrian refugees numbering in the millions fled civil war in their country in the early 2000′s. Many were housed in refugee camps like this camp in Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Credit: © Orlok/Shutterstock

Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day. The United Nations designated the day to honor refugees from around the world. A refugee is a person forced to flee from his or her country and find safety elsewhere. Many refugees seek to escape persecution based on religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political beliefs. Some flee from war, famine, or other dangers. Many refugees give up everything—home, possessions, and family and friends—to pursue an uncertain future in a foreign land.

The term refugee comes from the French word refugie, which was used to describe Protestant Huguenots who fled France in 1685 because of Roman Catholic persecution. The term displaced person, or DP, is sometimes used interchangeably with refugee.

The flow of refugees from one country to another can present major international challenges. Countries that receive refugees—often called host countries—may have difficulty providing shelter, food, sanitation, and medical treatment for large numbers of people in need. Since 1951, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has helped millions of refugees throughout the world. The UNHCR estimates there were nearly 89.3 million refugees, internally displaced people, and asylum seekers at the end of 2021. This number has increased in 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the ongoing crises in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria. The Rohingya are a people of Myanmar who are not recognized as legal residents and are forced to flee the country for safety and rights.

Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar await rescue after being stranded off the coast of Indonesia. The government of Myanmar limited the rights of its Rohingya population in the 2010′s, leading an increasing number to attempt to flee the country. Myanmar’s government considered them illegal immigrants, although many Rohingya families had lived in the country for decades.
Credit: AP Photo

Under international law, governments in host countries must respect the basic human rights of refugees. Refugees, in turn, are expected to respect the laws and regulations of host countries. The shelter and protection that host countries provide to refugees is called asylum. In host countries, refugees generally have freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and the ability to pursue education and work. However, some refugees have no choice but to stay in crowded refugee camps. Refoulement—that is, the forcible return of refugees to countries where they face persecution—is a violation of international law.

Refugees often face many obstacles and hardships on their journeys. Salva Dut escaped from South Sudan on foot and faced many years in refugee camps before being welcomed in the United States. He works to bring clean water to his home country. Many refugees try to help the community they left in order to make the lives of others safer and healthier.

Many communities plan activities and events on World Refugee Day to support refugees and welcome them. Look up if your community is hosting an event or read about how you can help refugees in your neighborhood.

February 12, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (from left to right) take a break from their work at peace talks held in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015. (Credit: AP Photo)

Peace talks in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, began yesterday. The talks lasted 17 hours and yielded a cease-fire agreement early today. Four leaders—German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Russian President Vladimir Putin—signed an agreement for a cease-fire to begin on February 15.

Since fighting began in eastern Ukraine in April 2014, more than 5,000 people have died. This is the second cease-fire negotiated in the attempt to halt fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces. A peace agreement signed in September 2014 was violated almost as soon as it was signed.

The peace agreement signed today calls for:

• Heavy weapons being pulled back by both parties to create a buffer zone of at least 31 miles (50 kilometers)
• An amnesty for fighters from both sides
• An exchange of any prisoners or hostages being held by either side
• Restoration of full border control to the government of Ukraine once local elections are held in eastern Ukraine

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is charged with monitoring that both sides adhere to the terms of the agreement.

Additional World Book Article:

• Russia In the Post-Soviet World

May 2, 2014

A number of pro-Russia rebels were killed and injured this morning in a Ukrainian military offensive in the separatist stronghold of Slovyansk. Speaking to media representatives in Kiev, interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov confirmed that government forces were tightening a cordon around Slovyansk, with the object of retaking control of the city.

Earlier in the day two Ukrainian army helicopters were shot down, killing a pilot and a serviceman. The self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk, Vyachislav Ponomaryov, claimed that his forces had brought down the helicopters. Ponomaryov stated that the helicopters had fired missiles into the city. His assertions remain unconfirmed.

Ukrainian military forces today launched an offensive against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

In Moscow, the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin strongly denounced the offensive, declaring that Ukraine has effectively destroyed “all hope” for a plan, negotiated last month in Geneva, Switzerland, to defuse growing tensions. While Putin called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, a Kremlin spokesperson repeated Putin’s recent warning that he reserves the right to intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine to protect the interests of its ethnic-Russian residents.  Speaking to German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday by telephone, Putin demanded that the Ukrainian government withdraw all troops from eastern Ukraine. Russia has 40,000 troops massed along the Ukrainian border.

For additional information on the Ukrainian crisis, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book article:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)

March 18, 2014

President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders, meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, signed a treaty this morning in which the Russian Federation annexed the strategically important Black Sea peninsula. In a televised speech before both houses of the Russian parliament, President Putin stated, “In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia.” Putin then declared that he had corrected a “historical injustice.” (Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev transferred Crimea to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine in 1954.) Putin went on to speak of the humiliations Russia has suffered with one superpower–the United States–dominating the world. He specifically pointed to the NATO air war in Kosovo in 1999 and the toppling of Libyan leader Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi in 2011. Putin described NATO bombing in Libya as carried out under the false pretense of humanitarian intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders meeting in the Kremlin signed a treaty this morning that made Crimea part of the Russian Federation. (Superstock)

In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the foreign ministry responded to the annexation with the following statement: “We do not recognize and never will recognize the so-called independence or the so-called agreement on Crimea joining the Russian Federation.” France, Germany, and the United States also condemned the Russia-Crimea treaty. In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron stated, “It is completely unacceptable for Russia to use force to change borders on the basis of a sham referendum held at the barrel of a Russian gun.”

Pro-Russian forces took over Crimea late last month after Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted. International affairs experts note that the pretense was to protect Crimea’s Russian-speaking majority, that is, “humanitarian intervention.” The crisis in Ukraine began in November 2013 when Yanukovych abandoned a European Union trade agreement in favor of closer ties to Russia, triggering massive protests in the capital and other cities.

For additional information on the Ukrainian revolution, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Kosovo 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Kosovo 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Libya 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)

March 3, 2014

Russia reportedly has demanded the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Crimea. There are reports that the Russian military has given Ukrainian forces in Crimea an ultimatum to surrender tonight by 10:00 pm EST or face a full military assault. With Russian troops surrounding Ukrainian bases and airports and manning roadblocks that have cut Ukrainian access to the peninsula, Russia is, in effect, already in control of Crimea, the southern most region of Ukraine.

After already having ordered thousands of troops into Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin on March 1 received  authorization from the Russian parliament to deploy armed forces “on Ukrainian territory.” Correspondents reported that the road from Sevastopol to Simferopol, the provincial capital, quickly filled with Russian army trucks.

Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, subsequently announced that he had put Ukraine’s armed forces on full readiness because of “potential aggression” from the estimated 15,000 Russian troops crossing into Crimea.

In a heated, 90-minute telephone conversation on March 1, President Putin informed U.S. President Barack Obama that Russia had the right to protect its interests and those of Russian speakers not only in Crimea but also in east Ukraine. After the conversation, President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which he characterized as  a “breach of international law.”

President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of Russian troops into neighboring Crimea, the southernmost region of Ukriane.(AP/Wide World)

In a video address on her website, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko declared on March 2 that by occupying Crimea, Russia has effectively “declared war” on the United Kingdom and the United States. According to Tymoshenko, British and U.S. representatives in 1994 signed the “Budapest Memorandum” guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. “Vladimir Putin is fully conscious that by declaring war, he is also declaring war on the guarantors of our security, the United States and Britain,” she noted.

European Union foreign ministers went into session today in Brussels to discuss possible punitive steps against Russia unless it pulls its troops back to its own bases in Crimea. British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Russia to pull back its forces in Crimea or face “significant costs,” echoing comments made by U.S. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. “The world cannot just allow this to happen,” Hague told the BBC. “The world cannot say it’s O.K. in effect to violate the sovereignty of another nation in this way.” However, the governments of France and Germany have made it plain that the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia is not on the table, let alone a military intervention. International affairs experts note that much of the European Union is highly dependent on Russian oil and natural gas.  In 2007, EU countries imported from Russia 32.6 percent of their total oil imports and 38.7 percent of total natural gas imports.

The people of Ukraine are split over their attitudes toward East and West. Crimea as well as eastern Ukraine is largely populated with Russian-speaking people with close historic and cultural ties to Russia. Western Ukraine is largely populated with Ukrainian-speaking people who want Ukraine allied with the European Union and the West. Today, pro-Russian demonstrators marched in the streets of the big cities of eastern Ukraine, voicing their allegiance to Moscow. In the city of Donetsk, about 1,000 demonstrators, waving Russian flags and shouting, “Putin, come!” occupied the first floor of the regional government building that has already been flying the Russian flag for several days.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)