The President of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has declared Saturday, June 20, 2015 as "World Refugee Day", to be observed throughout the Republic as a Working Holiday.

According to the Proclamation, the World Refugee Day 2015 will officially be held in Bahn Refugee Camp, Nimba County, in collaboration with Monrovia, Monsterrado County, PTP Camp in Grand Gedeh County and Little Wlebo Camp in Marland County, respectively. The day will be observed under the theme: "Refugees, Ordinary People Forced to Flee".

The Proclamation calls on all citizens and foreign residents, national and international youth organizations as well as Government agencies concerned to join LRRRC in executing appropriate programs befitting the observance of the Day.

A Foreign Ministry release states that as a founding member of the United Nations, the Government of Liberia has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.

According to the Proclamation, the intent of the observance is to allow the public to connect with refugees by virtue of common likes or dislikes, universal emotions, and common roles, such as mothers and fathers, and the challenges people face at work, running a household and raising children.

With the variety of programs, more than 100 countries host events with the collaborations of governments, humanitarian aid workers, celebrity, collaborators, civilians as well as with IDPs and refugees themselves, and their host countries.

Since 2001, World Refugee Day is commemorated every year on the 20th of June to acknowledge the difficulties faced by those forced to flee their homes and remain within their home countries as IDPs or those crossing international borders to become refugees.

Every year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) holds several special events to recognize the courage and resilience of more than 50 million persons around the world who were forced to flee their homes due to war or human rights abuses; and one of these special days is the World Refugee Day (WRD), the release added.