| Kyrgyzstan celebrates World Refugee Day |  |
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On 20 June, World Refugee Day is commemorated around the globe to pay tribute to the millions of people who are being forcibly uprooted worldwide, to their courage, hopes and dreams. In the run-up to World Refugee Day, Angelina Jolie, the Goodwill Ambassador of the UN refugee agency, released a new video. In this video, which is being broadcast also on TV in Kyrgyzstan, Mrs. Jolie stresses that “Refugees are the most vulnerable people on earth. Every day they are fighting to survive. They deserve our respect.” She calls on the public to “remember them on this day.” Since becoming a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 2001, Mrs. Jolie has travelled with the UN refugee agency to more than 20 countries to meet with refugees.
By the end of last year, 42 million people worldwide were forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution. This includes 16 million refugees and asylum seekers and 26 million people displaced within their own countries, according to UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report that was released on 16 June. While the number of refugees worldwide has, fortunately, declined, that of internally displaced persons is rising again. “In 2009, we have already seen substantial new displacements, namely in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Somalia,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said when launching Global Trends. “While some displacements may be short-lived, others can take years and even decades to resolve. We continue to face several longer-term internal displacement situations in places like Colombia, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia. Each of these conflicts has also generated refugees who flee beyond their own borders.”
The Refugee Reception Centre, which had been established in 2007 with financial support from the European Union, temporarily accommodates around 40 persons from many countries who seek safety in the Kyrgyz Republic from persecution in their homelands. Thanks to the efforts of the government and local communities in integrating many refugees and support by the UN refugee agency in the voluntary repatriation and resettlement of an equal number of refugees to other countries, the number of asylum seekers and refugees in Kyrgyzstan has shrunk from over 20,000 a few years ago to less than 900 currently.
Since it opened offices in Bishkek in 1995, UNHCR invested around twenty million dollars to assist the Kyrgyz Republic in protecting refugees and in preventing and reducing statelessness. Currently it implements projects with four governmental and three non-governmental partners throughout the country. The UN refugee agency has offices in Bishkek and Osh, where it also manages a warehouse with humanitarian emergency supplies. For further information please consult www.unhcr.org or Mrs. Cholpon Sultanova under Tel: (996-312) 611264 /65 /66 /67, Extension 183; Fax: (996-312) 611271; Email: kgzbi@unhcr.org |
On 18 June, refugees, representatives of the Government, parliament, authorities, courts, civil society, the media, diplomatic missions, the international community and the United Nations gathered at the Refugee Reception Centre in Bishkek and the Youth Square in Osh to start celebrating World Refugee Day.
In his message for World Refugee Day, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon emphasizes that “Around the world, millions of people have been uprooted by violence, persecution and conflict. The theme of this year’s observance of World Refugee Day, ‘real people, real needs’, underscores how much refugees have lost - even their countries - and how much the humanitarian community must do to help them. On this World Refugee Day, let us ensure that people displaced by conflict, persecution and upheaval get the support and services they need to build a better life.”
Mrs Aigul Ryskulova, the Chairperson of the State Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic for Migration and Employment opened World Refugee Day celebrations at the Committee’s Refugee Reception Centre in Bishkek. Mrs Ryskulova confirmed that “since the 1990s the Kyrgyz Republic granted protection to over 20,000 refugees.” Mrs. Bymaram Mamaseitova, Chairperson of the Migration Committee of the Jogorku Kenesh, reaffirmed refugees of parliamentary support. The Chairperson of the Supreme Court, Mrs. Janyl Alieva, thanked the UN refugee agency for its important work of helping refugees in Kyrgyzstan and the whole world.
Having reported on activities that supported the asylum system in Kyrgyzstan, 
