Thursday, June 21, 2012

World Refugee Day

Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC

June 20, 2012

The United States joins the international community in commemorating the courage and determination of millions of refugees around the globe. The United States is strongly committed to protecting and assisting refugees and we offer resettlement to more refugees each year than all other countries in the world combined. Since 1975, more than three million refugees have made new homes in the United States, and nearly half of them have become U.S. citizens.

Refugees are contributing in ways large and small to business, academia, the arts, science and technology. Today we celebrate the success of refugees who have built new lives here and in other resettlement countries, but we also recognize the millions of refugees who remain displaced in camps, cities, and rural settlements around the world. We are proud to support the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the many other organizations that work on behalf of refugees worldwide, and recommit ourselves to provide protection and assistance to some of the world's most vulnerable people.

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