June 20th is International Refugee Day. A refugee is legally defined as a person who is outside his or her country of nationality and is unable to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. By receiving refugee status, individuals are guaranteed protection of their basic human rights, and cannot be forced to return to a country where they fear persecution.

In 2007, there were 15.9 million refugees around the world, including 4.5 million Palestinian refugees, and it is estimated that 80 percent of refugees are women and children. According to the UNHCR, the leading countries of origin for refugees in 2007 were:

   * Afghanistan: 3.1 million
    * Iraq: 2.3 million
    * Colombia: 552,000
    * Sudan: 523,000
    * Somalia: 457,000

Internally displaced people (IDPs) have been forced to leave their homes as a result of armed conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations, but unlike refugees they have not crossed an international border. Although internally displaced people outnumber refugees by more than two to one, no single UN or other international agency has responsibility for responding to internal displacement. As a result, the global response to the needs of IDPs is often ineffective.

In 2007, there were an estimated 26 million people displaced internally by conflict. The largest populations of internally displaced people are found in:

   * Sudan: 4.4 million – 6 million
    * Colombia: more than 3 million
    * Iraq: 2.8 million
    * DR Congo: 1.25 million
    * Somalia: 1.1 million

This year the crisis in Pakistan added an approximate 2 million more IDPs. Another crisis that has been under-reported is the IDP crisis in Sri Lanka as that country’s civil war wound down. The number of Tamil IDPs is estimated at 285,000 currently in resettlement camps. The displaced living in towns numbers perhaps another 500,000. These are largely silent crises because governments are often unwilling to admit that they have an IDP crisis even if one is self-evident.

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In a speech on Friday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iranian opposition leaders — including candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi — will be held accountable for violence, bloodshed and rioting if the rallies dont stop.

Iran’s supreme leader also blamed Americans, the British and Zionists for the turmoil in his country, and once again criticized the United States for its support of Israel. Israel considers Iran its greatest existential threat.

Ronen Bergman, one of Israel’s leading investigative journalists and author of The Secret War With Iran, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the Israeli governments take on the current showdown in Iran and how it may come to an end.

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Garrick Utley, formerly of NBC News and now the president of the Levin Institute of the State University of New York, and Ervand Abharamian, a distinguished professor of history at the City University of New York, join Martin Savidge to discuss the top story of the week: Iran. They discuss Ayatollah Khameneis speech, the massive protests and where this crisis may be headed.

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