Senate Resolution No. 774 BY: Senator COMRIE MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 20, 2023, as World Refugee Day in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official days that are set aside to increase awareness of issues that affect the lives of citizens of New York State and the world; and WHEREAS, According to the United Nations, every minute 24 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror; and WHEREAS, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in December of 1950 to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide; and WHEREAS, There were 26.4 million refugees of concern to UNHCR around the world at the end of 2020; and WHEREAS, In addition, the UNHCR had determined that 1.4 million refugees were in need of immediate resettlement at the end of 2021; and WHEREAS, Between October 2020, and September 2021, the United States admitted 11,411 refugees, according to The U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; and WHEREAS, New York consistently ranks among one of the top States for accepting refugees as per Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration data; and WHEREAS, The Office of Refugee Resettlement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released that International Rescue Committee (IRC), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), Church World Service (CWS), Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and World Relief Corporation (WR), are some of the organizations responsible for resettling refugees in our community, along with numerous other community organizations and religious institutions that have resettled more than 3,366 refugees in New York, in 2022, from more than 62 countries including The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, and Burma; and WHEREAS, It is important to also pay tribute to the dedication of humanitarian workers both domestically and abroad who devote their lives to ensuring that vulnerable people can find a home; and WHEREAS, The powerful persistence and adaptability refugees demonstrate settling in a new place with a new language and customs, a place that becomes their new home, is truly commendable; and WHEREAS, There continue to be individuals and families in need of refuge and the support of New York State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 20, 2023, as World Refugee Day in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York; and Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.