On World Refugee Day, held every year on June 20th, we commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. World Refugee Day also marks a key moment for the public to show support for families forced to flee. One in every 113 people on the planet is now a refugee. Around the world, someone is displaced every two seconds, forced from their homes by violence, war and persecution. By the end of 2018, the number of displaced people had risen to 70.8 million – more than the population of the United Kingdom.
The UN General Assembly, on 4 December 2000, adopted resolution 55/76 where it noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had agreed to have International Refugee Day coincide with Africa Refugee Day on 20 June.
“Refugees are people like anyone else, like you and me. They led ordinary lives before becoming displaced, and their biggest dream is to be able to live normally again. On this World Refugee Day, let us recall our common humanity, celebrate tolerance and diversity and open our hearts to refugees everywhere.” – Ban Ki-moon
Learn more at UN World Refugee Day
The UN Public Service Day annually celebrates the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlights the contribution of public service in the development process; recognizes the work of public servants, and encourages young people to pursue careers in the public sector.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, prevented same-sex couples – even those whose marriages were recognized by their home state – from receiving benefits available to married couples under federal law. On June 26, 2013 the Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 vote that DOMA was unconstitutional.
On 12 December 1997, by resolution 52/149, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
26 June is an opportunity to call on all stakeholders including UN Member States, civil society and individuals everywhere to unite in support of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have been victims of torture and those who are still tortured today.
Torture is a crime under international law. According to all relevant instruments, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This prohibition forms part of customary international law, which means that it is binding on every member of the international community, regardless of whether a State has ratified international treaties in which torture is expressly prohibited. The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity.
For more information: https://www.un.org/en/events/torturevictimsday/
Same-sex marriage first became legal in California on June 16, 2008. However, Proposition 8, a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, passed in the November 2008 state elections. Proposition 8 was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by a United States District Court decision in 2010. In 2013, a Supreme Court decision upheld the ruling, paving the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California on June 26, 2013, after several years of legal battles.
The Stonewall riots (also referred to as the Stonewall uprising or the Stonewall rebellion) were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT) community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Patrons of the Stonewall, other Village lesbian and gay bars, and neighborhood street people fought back when the police became violent. The riots are widely considered to constitute one of the most important events leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.
July is Disability Pride Month! The month coincides with the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This is a time to celebrate people with disabilities, and to advocate for a more inclusive world.
