By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih on Friday briefed the Security Council members on the war, conflicts, climate crises and man-made disasters continue to displace millions around the world.
According to the UNHCR, 5.9 million Palestine refugees are served by the UN relief works agency, UNRWA
UN agency noted that 68.7 million people are displaced within their own country due to conflict or violence
Most refugees 68% are hosted by low and middle-income countries, it said.
The legal basis for UNHCR’s work is the 1951 Refugee Convention
It said that funding cuts are sharply reducing the number of people the UN agencies can help.
Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees addressed forced displacement worldwide, rather than a single country.
Over 117 million people have been forced from their homes, and displacement is outpacing solutions, Barham Salih told.
He said that humanitarian agencies can protect people and help host countries, but “humanitarians cannot create peace”.
He urged the Council to use its influence to end conflicts and sustain peace processes.
Sudan remains the world’s largest displacement crisis, with nearly 12 million people displaced inside and outside the country, he said.
He also pointed to repeated displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, millions uprooted by the war in Ukraine and generations of Sahrawi refugees living in camps.
The fighting in Yemen has displaced more than 130,000 people internally.
More than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh, unable to return safely to Myanmar.
He called on States to preserve asylum and the principle that people must not be returned to danger marked the Refugee Convention’s 75th anniversary .
Salih said that 50 by 35 initiative aims to halve, by 2035, the number of refugees in long-term displacement who depend on humanitarian aid.
Returns alone are insufficient, he said: people need safety, livelihoods and functioning services to rebuild their lives. “Ultimately, the most durable solution to forced displacement is peace.”
Nabeel Munir, Additional Foreign Secretary of Pakistan said “As displacement increases, international solidarity is under strain.”
He noted that his country “knows this reality first hand”.
Nabeel Munir said for more than four decades, Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans, extending protection and hospitality despite considerable economic challenges.
He urged the Council to address the root causes of displacement by placing conflict prevention and resolution at the heart of its work.
Munir also called for more equitable sharing of responsibility with refugee-hosting countries.
He stated resettlement must become more predictable and credible, encouraging developed countries to establish multiyear programmes.
“Our shared objective must be a world where fewer people are forced to flee,” he concluded.
Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Panama, said his region knows the realities of displacement, exile and migration.
He stressed as a transit country, Panama has learned that borders can separate territories, but cannot separate human dignity. Protecting a refugee is a human duty.
Venezuela is the source of one of the largest population displacements of our time, he said.
He also pointed to Haiti’s internal displacement crisis.
“Each refugee is also a question to the Security Council about the war that led them to flee,” he added.
He said that 75% of refugees and others needing assistance remain in neighbouring countries, many of them low- and middle-income States.
“Solidarity must be spread around,” he urged, calling for greater support for host countries and communities. As resources for UNHCR shrink, so do shelter, protection, opportunities for family reunification and hope.
Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassador Zenon Ngay Mukongo said “Forced displacement is not a far off reality, it’s a daily tragedy,”.
He noted that armed conflict in his country’s east has left more than 1.3 million Congolese living as refugees abroad and 6 million displaced within the country.
Behind those figures are separated families and children deprived of a childhood, he said.
The humanitarian, social, economic and psychological effects can last for generations. Large-scale displacement and poor sanitation also increase the risk of disease.
He said that warning of a “ticking time-bomb” in the country’s east, humanitarian assistance cannot replace political action.
Voluntary returns will not be sustainable without security, basic services and economic opportunities.
Ambassador José Mauricio Gaona of Colombia said that his country is hosting the largest refugee population in the Americas, including nearly 2.5 million Venezuelans, Colombia has seen the pressures of displacement firsthand, said
He also pointed to the crisis in Haiti and said drug trafficking is changing the dynamics of displacement.
“The right to asylum is a human right but the right to refuse certain refugees is a completely constitutional right,” he said.
Discussing the principle of non-refoulement, he argued that national security exceptions must also be considered.
With more than 40 million refugees worldwide, applying legal frameworks established after the Second World War to today’s complex movements is challenging, he said.
He noted returns to Syria and Afghanistan said “people in the end want to return”.
Colombia’s experience as a country of origin, transit and refuge could help inform how the system adapts to the twenty-first century, he added.
He addressed the causes of displacement is essential so people can remain safely in their communities.
Somalia ambassador said that 1 in every 70 people worldwide was forcibly displaced by the end of 2025.
Humanitarian assistance saves lives, but lasting solutions require action on the causes of displacement, including conflict, foreign occupation and persecution.
He identified the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory as a central cause of Palestinian displacement.
Refugees must also be protected from xenophobia, Islamophobia, misinformation and dangerous journeys, he said.
He pointed to continued deaths in the Mediterranean, he urged States to uphold their obligations under maritime and refugee law and asked the High Commissioner to keep the situation in focus.
Greece envoy said that irregular arrivals via the Central Mediterranean route are placing significant pressure on the country.
She supported the “route-based approach” being developed by UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration.
He said distinguishing between refugees and migrants at an early stage essential to prevent abuse of the asylum system.
As a front-line European Union member State still receiving large numbers of mixed arrivals, Greece called for stronger humanitarian action and greater international cooperation.
The representative of the United States, Jennifer Locetta reaffirmed her country’s commitment to peace.
She pointed to the “Washington Accords” concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, efforts to secure a humanitarian truce in Sudan and renewed efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The goal must be to prevent and end displacement, she said.
In 2025, the United States contributed $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to UNHCR, the UNICEF and IOM.
It also provided billions of dollars through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
She expressed support for the High Commissioner’s “50 by 35” vision.
Ms. Locetta urged his Office to remain at the forefront of global efforts to help refugees.
