World Refugee Day is an occasion to raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees and displaced persons and to recognise their strength and determination to rebuild their lives with dignity.

We note with deep concern that the global refugee crisis continues to intensify and remains one of the most urgent humanitarian challenges of our time. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), by the end of 2024, a staggering 123.2 million people were forcibly displaced due to conflict, persecution, and violence—an all-time high in recorded history. This figure encompasses 42.7 million refugees, 73.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and 8.4 million asylum seekers. Alarmingly, nearly 40% of all displaced persons are children under the age of 18, and millions more face the added burden of statelessness. Every day, tens of thousands are forced to flee their homes in search of safety, dignity, and protection.

Today, forced displacement is driven by a dangerous convergence of violent conflict, climate change, economic injustice, political repression, and the erosion of social protection systems. Africa hosts more than 30% of the global refugee population, reflecting not only the scale of the crisis but also the continent’s enduring traditions of hospitality and solidarity.

Despite this, refugees and displaced persons frequently face exclusion, exploitation, xenophobia, and barriers to accessing decent work, education, and healthcare. ITUC-Africa condemns all forms of discrimination and calls for the full integration of refugees into national labour markets under fair, safe, and dignified conditions.

On this World Refugee Day, ITUC-Africa reaffirms its commitment to advocating for policies and practices that promote justice, equity, and peace for all displaced individuals.
We call on:
1. Governments must fully implement the Global Compact on Refugees, uphold the Kampala Convention, and adopt national policies that ensure the rights, protection, and socio-economic inclusion of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
2. Trade unions and civil society actors should mobilise to advocate for the inclusion of refugees in collective bargaining, workplace protections, and skills development programmes. Importantly, we shall continue to advocate for peace and the utilisation of social dialogue to defeat forces and factors of violent conflicts and instability.
3. The international community to provide adequate, predictable, and sustained support to host countries and to address the root causes of forced displacement, including militarisation, extractivism, climate injustice, and poor governance.

We call on our African people to continue showing solidarity and inclusiveness toward our brothers and sisters who find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own. No one chooses to become a refugee. It is our moral, human, and trade union duty to defend their rights, dignity, and inclusion in our societies.

In solidarity,

Akhator Joel Odigie
General Secretary
Issued in Lome, on 20th June 2025