UN refugee chief calls for diplomacy as displacement strains aid

Addressing the UN General Assembly’s committee on social, humanitarian and cultural issues on 4 November, Salih said ending wars required political leadership, diplomacy and sustained engagement. He cited conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, according to a UN account of the meeting.

Salih also repeated his existing “50 by 35” ambition: to halve, by 2035, the number of refugees in long-term displacement who depend on humanitarian assistance. The goal concerns that group, not all refugees or everyone displaced from their homes.

At a UN refugee agency meeting in October, Salih estimated that about 14.5 million refugees in prolonged displacement in low- and middle-income countries relied on aid for their basic needs. He said the aim was to reduce the need for assistance, not to cut the assistance itself.

At the committee meeting, he called for refugees to have access to work and education and urged development investment in host countries. Representatives of host countries also called for more predictable financial support, warning that funding shortages were putting pressure on their communities.

At the October meeting, the African Group had cautioned that efforts to reduce reliance on aid must not lead to assistance being withdrawn prematurely or shift financial responsibilities to overburdened host countries.