"Former Iraqi President Barham Salih is on course to become the next head of the United Nations refugee agency after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommended him for the job. A signed letter from Guterres, dated Thursday and addressed to Atsuyuki Oike, Japan's top diplomat in Geneva and chair of UNHCR's executive committee, that was seen by news agencies, confirmed the appointment pending formal approval."
"Salih, who studied engineering in the United Kingdom to escape persecution under the rule of Saddam Hussein, served as Iraqi president from 2018 to 2022. Originally from Iraq's Kurdish region, Salih said during his campaign for the job that he believed deeply in the refugee agency's mission because I have lived it. My vision is a UNHCR that places refugees at the centre, recognising that humanitarian aid is meant to be temporary, he said."
"The expected succession comes at the end of a devastating year, with UNHCR having slashed its 2026 budget by nearly a fifth to $8.5bn, with 5,000 job losses coming down the line, even as global displacement spikes amid conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine. Key donors like the US under President Donald Trump have cut contributions, and others have shifted fund"
Barham Salih has been recommended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to succeed Filippo Grandi as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, with the appointment pending formal approval by the UNHCR executive committee and the UN General Assembly. Salih fled Saddam Hussein's persecution, studied engineering in the United Kingdom, and served as Iraq's president from 2018 to 2022. He campaigned on his lived refugee experience and called for a UNHCR that places refugees at the centre and treats humanitarian aid as temporary. The expected succession coincides with UNHCR cutting its 2026 budget to $8.5 billion, announcing 5,000 job losses amid rising global displacement and donor funding reductions.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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