المجلس العالمي للتسامح والسلام

Message from the president of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace on the occasion of world Refugee Day

Fostering Refugee Resilience: A Shared Responsibility, A shared Destiny

H.E. Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Jarwan
President, Global Council for Tolerance and Peace

On the Occasion of World Refugee Day – 20 June 2025

On World Refugee Day, we honor not only the profound suffering endured by millions forced to flee their homes but their extraordinary resilience. Behind every refugee status lies a story not just of displacement, but of unwavering dignity, relentless determination, and a hope that refuses to be extinguished.

Every refugee carries more than the scars of exile; they carry a dream—a dream of safety, of belonging, and of a life rooted in dignity and peace. And despite their pain, they rise. It is here that humanity is called to rise with them.

We cannot speak of the refugee crisis today without confronting the escalating global emergencies—most critically, the continuing wars and conflicts that fuel humanitarian catastrophes and drive countless innocents into displacement, homelessness, and despair. The current war threatens to spark new waves of forced migration, placing a heavier ethical burden on the international community to act with urgency and moral clarity.

In the face of these mounting challenges, the call for restraint and the primacy of wisdom over warfare becomes imperative. We must embrace a forward-looking vision that places human dignity at its core and recognizes peace as the only viable path to cultivating generations that grow in safety, stability, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to our shared global future.

At the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, we believe that peace is not merely the silence of guns; it is the voice of justice. Tolerance is not passive acceptance; it is an ethical and active commitment to embracing the humanity of every individual, regardless of their nationality or circumstance.

This is why our mission places the resilience of Refugees at the heart of our global efforts.
Through our powerful partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), we convened a high-level event at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva under the theme: “Fostering Refugee Resilience: A Shared Responsibility.” During this pivotal gathering, we proudly launched a global reference publication titled “Fostering Refugee Resilience: Global Perspectives on Integration, Inclusion, and Prosperity,” co-authored with international experts from the UNHCR, UNITAR, the Parliament of Malta, and beyond. More than a book, it is a global pledge—a chorus of voices from UN agencies, parliamentarians, and peacebuilders declaring that inclusion is not an option. It is a necessity. It is a testament to what humanity can achieve when it chooses solidarity over silence, and unity over indifference.

This vision lives through our initiatives- be it in the halls of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace(IPTP) , the General Assembly for Tolerance and Peace (GATP), or in the classrooms of our academic Master’s program in Tolerance Studies and Global Peace.  We build bridges, not walls. We foster legislation that heals, not divides. We cultivate minds that lead with empathy, and hearts that act with courage.

These initiatives are not academic exercises; they are designed to cultivate leaders who understand that peace must be inclusive and that humanity is indivisible.

We have formalized this path through a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with UNHCR, aligning our long-term work with the very institutions dedicated to protecting the displaced and empowering the voiceless. But our responsibility does not end with words or events—it begins with them.

Today, I extend a sincere and urgent appeal to world leaders, parliamentarians, educators, religious figures, and every person of conscience: Let us end, without delay, the wars and armed conflicts that are the primary drivers of displacement and suffering. No conversation about sustainable solutions holds meaning while the engines of destruction remain unchecked. Once conflict ceases, our true work begins: rebuilding societies founded on justice, dignity, and inclusive peace. Let us not see refugees as burdens—but as beacons. Not as problems to manage, but as partners in building peace. Let us expand safe pathways to education. Let us open doors to opportunity. Let us protect—and celebrate—the humanity in every refugee. Let us open doors of belonging rather than build walls of exclusion.
Their resilience is, ultimately, a mirror of our own capacity to change. Refugees are not strangers—they are us, in another time, another place, carrying the same hopes and refusing to surrender to despair.
Today, let us choose to be part of the solution—to be the voice of peace, the hand extended to those left with nowhere else to turn.

For in the end, the true measure of humanity lies not in what we possess, but in what we give. And the future we seek will only be just if it includes everyone.
Because not everyone who has lost a home has lost hope

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