2025-12-19T07:13:56+00:00
font
Enable Reading Mode
A-
A
A+
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Newly elected UN High Commissioner for
Refugees Barham Salih said on Friday that he will work to mobilize
international support to reach the most vulnerable refugee populations,
according to a statement.
In a statement, Salih said his approach to
leading the UN refugee agency will be shaped by his personal experience as a
former refugee, noting that protection and opportunity can fundamentally change
lives.
He considered his foremost responsibility
would be to refugees and others forced to flee—”upholding their rights and
dignity and advancing durable solutions so that displacement remains a
temporary situation, not a permanent fate.”
I am honoured to have been elected as the incoming United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. As a former refugee, I know first-hand how protection and opportunity can change the course of a life. That experience will inform a leadership approach grounded in empathy,…
— Barham Salih (@BarhamSalih) December 18, 2025
As of the end of June 2025, the most
recent UNHCR reporting period, 117.3 million people had been forced to flee
their homes worldwide due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights
violations, or events seriously disturbing public order. The total includes
nearly 42.5 million refugees, alongside 67.8 million people displaced within
their own countries and about 8.42 million asylum seekers.