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.
