Refugee Week and International Day Against Torture – Statement from our CEO

Refugee Week and International Day Against Torture

This week Foundation House celebrates Refugee Week and World Refugee Day.

We join our clients, their families and communities, our sector colleagues and all Australians to applaud the successful settlement and achievements of the many thousands of people of refugee background in our community.

We are also mindful of the challenges and uncertainty facing those on temporary protection visas and the plight of people seeking asylum in our country.

We pay testament to the resilience of the millions of men, women and children who were forced to flee war and persecution and have yet to find safety.

This coming Friday 26 June is the United Nations (UN) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

First observed in 1998, the date was chosen by the UN because on the same day in 1987, the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into force. On 26 June 1948 the United Nations Charter was signed.

A dreadful truth is that torture remains all too commonplace. We, along with the international rehabilitation community of which we are a member, are utterly committed to its eradication.

In Refugee Week, on the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, and on every single other day, we stand with our clients and their communities in their journey of recovery as they rebuild their lives.

There is still much work to do.

Paris Aristotle AO
CEO, Foundation House

Foundation House