IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1350 
Recognizing June 20, 2010, as World Refugee Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2010 
Ms. WATSON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing June 20, 2010, as World Refugee Day. 
Whereas World Refugee Day was first observed on June 20, 
2001; 
Whereas tens of thousands of people around the world take 
time to recognize the challenges and applaud the con-
tributions of forcibly displaced persons throughout the 
world; 
Whereas the annual commemoration of World Refugee Day 
is marked by a variety of events in more than 100 coun-
tries, involving government officials, humanitarian work-
ers and volunteers, celebrities, and the forcibly displaced; 
Whereas refugees are people who have been forced to flee 
their countries due to a well-founded fear of persecution 
based on their political opinions, religious beliefs, race, 
nationality, or membership in a particular social group; 
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•HRES 1350 IH 
Whereas internally displaced persons are those who have fled 
their homes or been uprooted but remain within the bor-
ders of their country; 
Whereas of the 42,000,000 displaced persons worldwide, the 
United Nations Refugee Agency assists over 25,000,000, 
including 10,000,000 refugees and more than 14,000,000 
internally displaced persons; 
Whereas these vulnerable individuals rely on the United 
States, other governments, the United Nations, and nu-
merous nongovernmental relief agencies for the protection 
of their basic human rights; 
Whereas Somali refugees have lived in camps in Kenya since 
the early 1990s; 
Whereas Burmese refugees have lived in camps inside Thai-
land since the mid-1980s; 
Whereas decades of violence in Afghanistan have produced al-
most 3,000,000 refugees; 
Whereas 3,000,000 internally displaced persons and 400,000 
refugees who have fled instability in Colombia currently 
constitute the largest known displacement population in 
the Western Hemisphere; 
Whereas more than 4,000,000 Iraqis are displaced within 
their country and in the region, including Chaldeans and 
other minorities; 
Whereas more than 2,000,000 people have been displaced by 
conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; 
Whereas ongoing conflict and violence in Sudan have forced 
more than 1,000,000 people to become internally dis-
placed within Sudan and another 250,000 to flee to 
Chad; 
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•HRES 1350 IH 
Whereas some 150,000 Sudanese have sought protection in 
other countries around the world; 
Whereas 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the Refugee 
Act of 1980, the cornerstone of the United States’ system 
of refugee protection and assistance; 
Whereas the United States continues to be the single largest 
refugee resettlement country in the world; and 
Whereas the United States is the largest single donor to the 
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Ref-
ugees: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United 
States to promote the safety, health, and well-being 
of the millions of refugees who flee war, famine, per-
secution, and torture in search of peace, nourish-
ment, hope, and freedom; 
(2) calls on the Department of State to con-
tinue to support the efforts of the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees and to advance the 
work of nongovernmental organizations, especially 
those that also have expertise in resettlement, to 
protect refugees; 
(3) calls on the United States Government to 
continue to strengthen its leadership role in the 
international community in response to those who 
have been displaced, including the most vulnerable 
populations who endure sexual violence, human traf-
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•HRES 1350 IH 
ficking, forced conscription, genocide, and exploi-
tation; 
(4) commends those who have risked their lives 
working individually and for the multitude of non-
governmental organizations, along with the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who have 
provided life-saving assistance and helped protect 
those displaced by conflict around the world; and 
(5) reaffirms the goals of World Refugee Day 
and reiterates the strong commitment to protect the 
millions of refugees who live without material, social, 
or legal protections. 
Æ 
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