June 20 is the WorldRefugee Day, which has been celebrated since the adoption of the Resolution N55/76 by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2000.

General deterioration of the situation of human rights is directly linked to the increase in the number of refugees. About 65 million people are internally displaced persons in the world, more than 20 million out of which are refugees who were forced to leave their countries due to war and human rights violations and demand shelter in foreign countries. The right to asylum is a right guaranteed by the human rights law. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, any person has the right to seek and enjoy asylum.

In light of the developments in the world, during the last few years, the number of asylum seekers has been increased in Georgia too, though in comparison with previous years, their number has been decreased this year. According to the data of 2016, there were 947 asylum-seekers and 1 513 persons with refugee and humanitarian statuses in Georgia.

Refugee protection is one of the priorities of the Public Defender's Office. A special chapter is dedicated to the rights of refugees, persons with humanitarian status and asylum seekers in the Annual Report of the Public Defender of Georgia on the Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms. The Public Defender focused on the challenges and solutions to the problems that were detected during the monitoring of the rights of the mentioned persons by the Public Defender's Office. It is necessary the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, recognized by international and domestic laws, to be protected.

The Public Defender of Georgia joins the celebration of the World Refuge Day and expresses hope that effective protection of these persons' rights will be ensured by the state.