GENEVA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues on Tuesday urged the world to act immediately to help those forced to leave their homes by overwhelming circumstances.

The Rapporteur, Fernand de Varennes, said in a statement to mark the World Refugee Day that people should support action to help refugees, including education, shelter and training for work.

According to the UN expert, the recent rise in tragedies across the globe has increased refugee populations, which has subsequently led to polarized ideologies around the world.

As such, it is a critical time to welcome refugees with deference and a time for us to unite in diversity.

"Every minute, 20 people from different geographical, racial, linguistic and religious backgrounds are forced to leave their homes by hatred or conflict. Most of them come from minorities and are vulnerable and marginalized," he noted.

He added that we must now act on our common feelings of empathy and solidarity and do everything in our power to unite humanity against hatred and conflict.

"Human dignity can be attained by respecting our neighbours including the minorities among us. To attain human dignity, by all and for all, ongoing commitment by governments towards the respect of human rights is fundamental," he stressed.

Falling on every June 20, the World Refugee Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world.