Bill Text: CA AJR34 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: World Refugee Day.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 56-17-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-03 - Referred to Com. on JUD. [AJR34 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AJR34-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
June 06, 2022 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Joint Resolution
No. 34
| Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty |
May 19, 2022 |
Relative to refugees.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 34, as amended, McCarty.
World Refugee Day.
This measure would recognize June 20, 2022, as World Refugee Day, and urge the President and Congress of the United States to strengthen the international leadership role of the United States to find political solutions to existing conflicts, prevent new conflicts from beginning, and aid people who have been displaced by conflict, and also urge the Congress of the United States to make a bipartisan commitment to promote the safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, People displaced by conflict, instability, and persecution, including refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people who seek safety in other parts of their home country, face innumerable challenges in addition to the trauma of being forced from their home, including language and cultural barriers, difficulty securing work and housing, and limited access to health care and other social services; and
WHEREAS, Refugees who are women and girls are often at a greater risk of sexual violence and exploitation, forced or early marriage, human trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence; and
WHEREAS, Children account for nearly one-half of the refugee population in the world, millions of whom are unable to access basic services including education; and
WHEREAS, At the end of 2021, there were more than 84,000,000 displaced people worldwide, an increase of 1,600,000 from the previous year, including roughly 50,900,000 internally displaced people, 26,600,000 refugees, and 4,400,000 people seeking asylum; and
WHEREAS, Sporadic outbursts of violence in Burundi have prompted more than 330,000 Burundians, as of July 2020, to flee to the neighboring countries of Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and
WHEREAS, By the end of 2019, violence and widespread conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo resulted in the internal displacement of 5,000,000 people; and
WHEREAS, Violent insurgent attacks in Nigeria have forced 684,000 people to flee to the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, and have internally displaced over 2,900,000 people as of 2020; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 2,000,000 South Sudanese people are internally displaced, and over 2,000,000 are refugees, mainly in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda, as a result of the humanitarian emergency that has been ongoing since December 2013; and
WHEREAS, Between 2014 and 2017, more than 5,000,000 Iraqis fleeing violence were internally displaced, and, as of 2019, more than 259,000 refugees have fled to nearby countries; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 6,600,000 refugees have fled Syria since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 and more than 6,700,000 people are internally displaced; and
WHEREAS, Since 2014, more than 2,000,000 2,300,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, and at least 20,000 22,000 women, men, and children have died or gone missing during those crossings; and
WHEREAS, More than 85,000 women, men, and children, including many persecuted Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, departed on smugglers’ boats from the Bay of Bengal by 2015, more than 1,000 of whom died at sea; and
WHEREAS, More than 90,000 civilians were displaced from the Republic of Artsakh as a result of the conflict that occurred in September 2020 in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, with an estimated 35,000 unable to return to their homes; and
WHEREAS, Since February of 2022, nearly 5,600,000 6,500,000 Ukrainian nationals have fled their homes as a result of the Russian invasion, and subsequent conflict, that has resulted in civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, As of 2021, 2022, violence, insecurity, threats, and a lack of food, medicine, and essential medical services have led to more than 4,000,000 6,000,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants worldwide; and
WHEREAS, Since 1975, the United States has welcomed more than 3,000,000 refugees who are resettled in communities across the country; and
WHEREAS, Since the enactment of the United States Refugee Act of 1980, California has greatly benefited from being a national leader in welcoming refugees from all faiths and regions of the world; and
WHEREAS, California maintains a proud history of diversity and inclusion by resettling refugees from around the world, including from the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Columbia, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Haiti, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mauritania, Moldova, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland,
Republic of Artsakh, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, former Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe; and
WHEREAS, The well-established refugee communities in California have significantly strengthened the worldwide economic positioning of California and contributed to advancing the state as the fifth largest economy on Earth; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature reaffirms the strong bipartisan commitment of the United States and California to protect and assist millions of refugees and other forcibly uprooted persons worldwide; and
WHEREAS, The United States provides critical resources and support to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international and nongovernmental organizations working with refugees around the world; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature commends those who have risked their lives working individually and for the countless nongovernmental organizations and international agencies such as UNHCR that have provided lifesaving assistance and helped protect those displaced by conflict around the world; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations designates June 20, 2022, as World Refugee Day, a global day to honor the courage, strength, and determination of women, men, and children who are forced to flee their homes under the threats of conflict, violence, and persecution; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature recognizes June 20, 2022, as World Refugee Day; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the President and the Congress of the United States to strengthen the international leadership role of the United States to find political solutions to existing conflicts, prevent new conflicts from beginning, and aid those who have been displaced, including the most vulnerable populations who endure sexual violence, human trafficking, forced conscription, genocide, and exploitation; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Congress of the United States to make a bipartisan commitment to promote the safety, health, and well-being of the millions of refugees and displaced persons who flee war, persecution, and torture in search of peace, hope, and freedom; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.
