Addis Ababa 20 June 2022. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat joins all AU Member States, Regional Economic Committees and all concerned stakeholders around the world including Refugees and Asylum seekers from all over the world to mark the World Refugee Day on 20 June 2022.

World Refugee Day celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country for a better life, often escaping conflict, terrorism, or persecution. This year's World Refugee Day theme emphasizes the Right to Seek Safety for All. This day is indeed an opportunity to reflect on the fate reserved to refugees and asylum seekers in Africa in particular, and in the world over, and to strengthen the promotion and understanding of their rights as well as recognise their resilience to rebuild their lives.

The AU marks this important day at a time when the continent is facing major challenges caused mainly by conflicts and acts of terrorism which are the main drivers of the mass displacement of people within the continent, creating a complex and protracted crises These challenges are exacerbated by the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and of the ongoing armed conflict around the world.

The Chairperson commends AU member states  for their longstanding exemplary solidarity with refugees and displaced persons demonstrated by their continued open reception of asylum seekers and refugees as well as by the recent successful Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference held on 27 May 2022, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, aimed at mobilizing solidarity and support to meet the humanitarian needs in Africa.

The Chairperson seizes this occasion to affirm, once again, African Union’s strong commitment to the protection of refugees, and asylum seekers as provided for in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

The Chairperson further underscore the fact that developing regions host more than 85 per cent of the world’s refugees and the burden of forced displacement in the African continent continues to increase.

Despite global commitments and pledges, the level of support and assistance by the international community in the continent remains unacceptably low.  It is high time that Africa’s solidarity with refugees and displaced people is adequately supported. The Chairperson, therefore, calls for strong international solidarity and support for AU member states.