World Refugee Day 2027 is on Sunday

About World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day recognizes refugees and other people forced from their homes, along with the communities that take them in. Events range from art exhibits, film screenings and sports matches to policy debates on resettlement, education and the right to work. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and again in 1981, leads the global observance.

The General Assembly created the day with resolution 55/76, adopted on December 4, 2000. The resolution noted that 2001 would be the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity had agreed to let the new international day coincide with Africa Refugee Day, already held on June 20. The first World Refugee Day was observed in 2001.

The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol define a refugee as someone outside their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Their central principle, non-refoulement, holds that refugees should not be sent back to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. In 2026 the day fell in the Convention's 75th anniversary year.

Sources: United Nations: World Refugee Day, UNHCR: World Refugee Day, General Assembly resolution 55/76 (2000). How we check dates.

How to mark World Refugee Day

• Read a memoir or watch a documentary made by a refugee writer or filmmaker.
• Eat at a restaurant or shop at a business run by refugees in your area.
• Volunteer with a local resettlement agency, for example by tutoring English or helping a newly arrived family learn their way around town.
• Donate needed items or funds to a vetted refugee aid organization.
• Invite a refugee speaker to your school, place of worship or workplace.

World Refugee Day dates