1960 World Refugee Year

The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution on December 5, 1958  establishing World Refugee Year (WRY) . WRY had two aims:

• to focus interest on the refugee problem and to encourage additional financial contributions from Governments, voluntary agencies and the general public for its solution
• to encourage additional opportunities for permanent refugee solutions, through voluntary repatriation, resettlement or integration, on a purely humanitarian basis and in accordance with the freely expressed wishes of the refugees themselves.

States members of the United Nations and members of the specialised agencies were urged  to co-operate, in accordance with the national wishes and needs of each country and from a humanitarian point of view, in promoting a WRY as a practical means of securing increased assistance for refugees throughout the world.

WRY was launched on June 28, 1959. On April 7, 1960, 125 different WRY stamps were issued simultaneously by 74 countries, including the Philippines.

The Philippines WRY Stamps

A peaceful scene of a Manila Bay sunset from a painting by artist Ben Alano (1922-1991) was the model for the stamps printed by the Government Printing Bureau of Japan.

 Sunset, Manila Bay-Ben Alano

An uprooted oak tree , the symbol of WRY is seen in the lower left corner of the stamps.

First Day of Issue Cancellation

The WRY symbol is included in the first day of issue cancellation.

First Day Covers

 

Overseas Mailers

 

(Not in author's collection)