“Today, a record more than 120 million people are forcibly displaced around the world. On World Refugee Day, we reaffirm the EU’s unwavering commitment to be a leading global donor to support refugees worldwide. We are committed to strengthening our efforts to ensure the EU remains a place where refugees find protection and safety.

Concretely, the EU is actively following through on its pledge made at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum to improve the situation of millions of refugees and forcibly displaced persons caught up in conflicts and major humanitarian crises across the world such as Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Venezuela, Yemen, Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We also support governments in addressing statelessness and strengthening their asylum systems.

Our focus is on durable solutions, working alongside national and local authorities to address the needs and resilience of refugees and the communities hosting them. In this regard, we are already working with governments such as in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania, to support their efforts to integrate refugees into national systems.

At the same time, the EU also hosts an increasing number of refugees and people forced to flee their homes. For example, due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, EU Member States host today almost 4.2 million people from Ukraine under temporary protection, among which one third are children.

The EU reaffirms its strong support to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) which both play a crucial role. The EU reiterates its unwavering commitment to the right to seek and enjoy asylum and the principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in both the 1951 Refugee Convention and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which must always be respected. […]