Cate Blanchett sees pandemic as chance for reflection on plight of refugees

The Australian Oscar winner, said the annual June 20 event came during a time of "challenge and reflection".

"We've been forced to confront what uncertainty feels like and of course that is the situation that the majority of refugees live with, year in, year out," Blanchett told Reuters in an interview.

"There's a kind of an opportunity ... to think about how we have dealt with uncertainty and perhaps place ourselves in the shoes of mothers and fathers and doctors and lawyers who have been, through no fault of their own, displaced and have been living with, for often for upwards of 18, 19 years, in that state that we have been dealing with for 18 months."

World Refugee Day honours those who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict or persecution. This year's theme calls for greater inclusion of refugees in health systems, education and sport.