UN agency gears up to mark World Refugee Day

A classical music concert at the headquarters of the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva, an Africa symposium in Tokyo with the top UN refugee official, a celebrity-led festival in the United States and charity auctions in Italy and Spain are just some of the events that will honour millions of refugee youths tomorrow on World Refugee Day.

In more than 70 countries, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), partner agencies, government officials, local celebrities and business leaders will draw public attention to young refugees. "Refugee Youth: Building the Future" has been picked as this year's theme in an effort to highlight the plight of young asylum seekers whose coming of age has been interrupted by the trauma of war and exile. Out of an estimated 20 million people that UNHCR helps today, 7 million are youngsters.

High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers will spend the Day in Tokyo, where he will co-chair an Africa symposium with his predecessor at UNHCR, Sadako Ogata. In Washington, D.C., UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie and senior US government officials, joined by a 13-year-old Afghan refugee, will launch a three-day festival featuring diverse cultures from around the world.

In Switzerland, UNHCR staff and invited guests will attend a classical music concert at the agency's headquarters. Their guest of honour will be UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador for the Arab world, the Egyptian actor and playwright Adel Imam. In Italy and Spain, celebrity auctions aim to raise funds for refugee youth programmes, while in the United Kingdom a series of club nights in London and Manchester will raise awareness of refugee issues among local young people.

In Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR staff are marking the day by sending off the first organized convoys of Angolans returning home after nearly three decades of civil war. This year, 150,000 people are expected to go back - nearly one-third of Angolans driven from their country by the conflict.

Elsewhere in Africa, from Sierra Leone to Uganda to Tanzania, publicity campaigns and performances by local artists are set to raise awareness of some of the ills that befall young refugees who often face forced military recruitment, sexual exploitation and various forms of violence and deprivation.

In Latin America, from Colombia to Panama to Mexico to Peru, music festivals, children's art exhibits and painting contests involving young refugees will mark the Day, while in West and Central European nations, UNHCR staff and refugee rights groups will raise funds and seek to counter negative stereotyping of refugees and asylum seekers.