Media Alert: World Refugee Day to be Commemorated on 20 June 2013

Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell will on Thursday, 20 June 2013 present a keynote address and launch a Refugee Service Booklet at the World Refugee Day Commemoration event at Aresta, Athlone.

World Refugee Day will be commemorated around the world on Thursday, 20 June 2013 and coincides with the 62^nd anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This day honours the courage and determination of men, women and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

Minister Bredell will address the theme of One Family Torn Apart by War is Too Many, Sisonke Building Communities of Peace and Diversity at an event organised by Western Cape Disaster Management, the UNHCR, the Cape Town Refugee Centre, the Scalabrini and Aresta.

South Africa, as a signatory to the 1951 Convention and through our Constitution, the Western Cape Government is committed to the promotion and protection of refugee rights. Receiving refugees is an act of solidarity with the victims of conflict, violence and persecution

As part of the Refugee Day Commemoration, Minister Bredell will also launch the Refugee Services booklet aimed at guiding refugees and asylum seekers. The booklet serves as a useful guide on the services available at various Western Cape Government Departments, including the South African Police Services, that refugees are able to access. Western Cape Disaster Management, along with the UNHCR, has developed this booklet in order to assist asylum seekers and refugees with integration into the South African community.