Refugees allowed to travel

The Second World War created waves of millions of refugees and displaced people and with the need to rebuild their own structures, many countries found it difficult to integrate them. By 1958, 900,000 European refugees had been absorbed by western European countries, but many still remained in camps. Between 1959 and 1960, the United Nations launched World Refugee Year, and by the end all Europe’s camps were closed. The Council of Europe Agreement helped to ease a difficult situation by allowing refugees to cross borders without a visa for a stay of less than three months.

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