Despite headwinds, global refugee agenda has delivered results – UNHCR’s Grandi

Ongoing conflicts in many regions, rising hostility towards refugees and the principle of asylum, and “drastic, irresponsible” cuts to foreign aid have created unprecedented challenges for refugees and those working to assist them, the High Commissioner told delegates.

“There will inevitably be more setbacks along the way … [but] we cannot let that discourage us,” said Grandi, whose 10-year tenure as High Commissioner ends on 31 December.

“We have come a long way. It is important to remember that,” he argued. “My main message today, as we open this Progress Review of the Global Refugee Forum, is that we have already accomplished much. We should not shy away from that – on the contrary, now is the time to build on it.”

Grandi pointed to the nearly 3,500 pledges to improve the lives of refugees, forcibly displaced and stateless people and their hosts made at previous Global Refugee Forums, including over $2.6 billion in new financial pledges. And to the estimated $4 billion in annual investments by development actors in forced displacement situations.

“And this is new – it didn’t exist 10 years ago,” he said. “These efforts have driven advances in education, in employment, in refugee protection, in climate action, and in improving access and quality of services for refugees and their hosts.”

Strengthening the capacity of host countries to include refugees in national systems – as many are already doing – is a more sustainable approach that will reduce long-term dependency on humanitarian aid. But this shift requires greater support from donor countries.

“Hosting refugees has a cost, one that countries such as Chad, Iran, Costa Rica, Egypt and many others cannot bear alone,” Grandi said. “They must be supported, especially financially, otherwise there is a risk that protection gains for refugees will be eroded, and that … progress will be undone. Or rather, be further undone, I should say, considering the impact that recent funding cuts have already had.”

This argument was echoed in a video message by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “We must increase support for host countries – especially the low- and middle-income countries welcoming nearly three quarters of the world’s refugees,” he said. “Let us continue working together to invest in refugees and host communities. And to defend and uphold the right to seek asylum and protection, a fundamental pillar of international law.”

Aggrey David Kibenge, Permanent Secretary at the Ugandan Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, spoke on behalf of co-conveners and co-hosts Colombia, Japan, France, Switzerland, Uganda and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He pointed to encouraging progress in areas such as refugee inclusion in national health and data systems, enrolment in higher education, and digital connectivity.

But he warned that progress in areas including refugee self-reliance, returns and responsibility sharing risked being reversed due to this year’s sharp reduction in foreign development assistance.

“We all recognise the negative consequences of the funding crisis, but it is becoming evident that they are far more severe than initially anticipated. All the while, host countries continue to open their hearts and homes, often without the resources or infrastructure to do so,” Kibenge said.

Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis urged States to use the Progress Review to analyze past achievements and draw up a roadmap to the next Global Refugee Forum in 2027.

“We must go from pledges to results, and this review helps us measure the progress made. It helps us adapt our policies and identify in a realistic way where our efforts must be changed and adapted,” Cassis said. “In this unstable world, with a significant decrease in the financial means to deal with these issues, we must show a very strong political will.”

One of the day’s most powerful messages was shared by Syrian refugee and UNHCR advisory board member, Nour Jarrouj, who delivered the global refugee statement. She was among more than 300 participants at the event with lived experience of forced displacement and statelessness, and made a compelling case for greater refugee participation.

“Refugees are not bystanders. We are actors, leaders, organisers and experts in our own right,” Jarrouj said. “If we want better and more effective outcomes, refugees must be partners – not afterthoughts.”

“The right to seek asylum is under growing pressure, and deterrence-based approaches continue to spread. These practices do not reduce displacement; they increase our suffering and weaken the global framework that has safeguarded millions,” she added.

“The world has made us many promises. What is needed now is measurable action, sustained investment and political courage,” Jarrouj concluded. “The future of international protection depends on what the world chooses now. Retreat or responsibility, symbolism or substance, managed decline or collective renewal. The system must choose justice now.”