Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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October 6, 2025 Refugees and migrants
Filippo Grandi addressed the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva for the last time as its head. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees summed up a decade marked by rising numbers of internally displaced people, declining humanitarian funding, and a crisis of confidence in international cooperation.
He recalled that since his appointment in 2015, the number of people forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution has almost doubled, reaching 122 million.
Crisis of confidence and the rise of isolationism
Anti-immigrant sentiment has grown stronger over the decade, fueled by "manipulation and politicization" and "people's general disillusionment with the institutions that are supposed to represent them," Grandi said.
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"We see how the pendulum of state behavior has swung from cooperation to transactional politics," he noted.
The High Commissioner stressed that “the atrocities committed in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar demonstrate the abandonment of norms in the name of violence.”
Protection of international law
Grandi warned against trying to revise Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, calling it a "catastrophic mistake."
"The right to seek asylum wasn't invented 75 years ago. The moral obligation to provide shelter to those fleeing danger is enshrined in sacred texts around the world," he said.
The High Commissioner stressed that the principles of sovereignty and the right to asylum do not contradict but complement each other.
He also recalled that three-quarters of all refugees are not in Europe or North America, but in low- and middle-income countries.
The UN representative noted that the Global Compact on Refugees, adopted in 2018, has become a tool for practical solutions.
The financial crisis and its consequences
Grandi called financial situation humanitarian agencies "as a result of political decisions with disastrous consequences." The High Commissioner noted that the amount of funds available to UNHCR has been estimated to have fallen to $3.9 billion in 2025, a decrease of $1.3 billion from the previous year.
The High Commissioner reported that due to resource shortages, more than 5,000 staff had to be laid off and programs to prevent gender-based violence, provide psychosocial support, support schools, and resettle refugees had to be suspended. He warned that such drastic cuts in foreign aid would create a domino effect, destabilizing countries and institutions.
"We must not put up with war."
Grandi noted that, despite the crisis, UNHCR continues reforms aimed at simplifying coordination mechanisms and increasing operational efficiency. He emphasized that the Office is actively involved in developing a roadmap for reforming the humanitarian system and strengthening cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), including in Afghanistan, North Africa, and Latin America.
In the final part of his speech, Filippo Grandi turned to examples that inspire hope: the return of Syrian refugees, peace efforts in the Great Lakes region and growing opportunities for recovery.
“We must not put up with war, even if it seems inevitable,” he stressed.
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