Solidarity must go beyond words

Solidarity must go beyond words | Daily Tribune

Today, we recognize the millions of refugees forced to flee war, persecution, and disaster.

Every individual carries a story of profound loss — of a family uprooted and a future upended.

Many face closed doors and a rising tide of xenophobia.

From Sudan to Ukraine, from Haiti to Myanmar, a record number of people are on the run for their lives — while support is dwindling.

And host communities, often in developing countries, are shouldering the greatest burden.

This is unfair and unsustainable.

But even as the world falls short, refugees continue to show extraordinary courage, resilience and determination.

And when given the chance, they contribute meaningfully —strengthening economies, enriching cultures, and deepening social bonds.

On this World Refugee Day, solidarity must go beyond words.

Solidarity must mean boosting humanitarian and development support, expanding protection and durable solutions such as resettlement, and upholding the right to seek asylum — a pillar of international law.

It must also mean listening to refugees and ensuring they have a voice in shaping their futures.

And it must mean investing in long-term integration through education, decent work and equal rights.

Becoming a refugee is never a choice. But how we respond is. So let us choose solidarity. Let us choose courage. Let us choose humanity.

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Sexual violence is a grotesque tactic of war, used to brutalize, torture, and repress, scarring bodies, minds and entire communities. The horror of these heinous crimes echoes long after the guns fall silent.

Too often, perpetrators walk free, cloaked in impunity, while survivors often bear the impossible burden of stigma and trauma. The pain does not end with them. It stretches across lifetimes, ravaging generations of families, and forces the inherited legacy of trauma and suffering on the descendants of survivors.

The focus of this year is the deep and lasting intergenerational wounds of conflict-related sexual violence. To break the cycle, we must confront the horrors of the past, support the survivors of today, and protect future generations from the same fate.

That means ensuring safe access to vital, survivor-centered and trauma-informed services; delivering justice and holding perpetrators to account; and listening to — and amplifying — the vital voices of survivors.

Let’s unite to end this despicable crime, demand justice for survivors, and sustain our critical efforts to end the cycle of violence for good.

(Excerpts of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ messages on World Refugee Day on 20 June and the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on 19 June.)