World Refugee Day is June 20th (same day as the solstice this year).  It is devoted to raising awareness of the situations of refugees across the world.

This year’s theme is “One refugee without hope is too many.”

From Wikipedia:

A refugee is a person who is outside their country of origin or habitual residence because they have suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because they are a member of a persecuted ‘social group’. Such a person may be referred to as an ‘asylum seeker’ until recognized by the state where (s)he makes his(er) claim.

Refugee women and children represent an additional subsection of refugees that need special attention. For the refugee system to work successfully, countries must be prepared to allow Open borders for people fleeing conflict, particularly for countries closest to the conflict. This is a program that has helped many people, but people still believe there are flaws. Getting to a refugee camp is extremely difficult.

As of December 31, 2005, the largest source countries of refugees are Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, and the Palestinian Territories. The country with the largest number of IDPs is South Sudan, with over 5 million. As of 2006, with 800,000 refugees and IDPs, Azerbaijan had the highest per capita IDP population in the world.