UNHCR at 75 – keeping our collective promises alive

Refugees, you are not alone.

That’s our message to you today – and every day. Right now, more than 117 million people remain forcibly displaced globally, having been forced to flee their homes. Every minute, someone escapes war or persecution just to survive.

The right to seek asylum – our collective pledge to offer safety to people with a well-founded fear of persecution or those fleeing conflict and war – was signed in ink by States in 1951. Yet that promise that the world made nearly 75 years ago to protect people forced to flee their homes is under threat – more now than in living memory.

The challenges are immense: displacement is now more complex and longer-lasting; peace is hard to reach; and funding gaps are decimating essential programmes. At times, it can feel like fear and division are drowning out compassion. Asylum spaces are shrinking. Xenophobia is on the rise.

And we hear the voices undermining the Refugee Convention, which was born from the horrors of World War II to ensure that those fleeing for their life would be able to find safety. Humanitarian funding has been slashed – for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, by some 35 per cent this year to date – leaving millions without access to safety, food, shelter and vital protection services, let alone the means to re-start independently.

Our reply is simple: the principle of asylum is life-saving and indispensable. It must be upheld. On Sunday, 14 December 2025, it will be 75 years to the day since the adoption of the 1950 Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. During those decades, the Convention has saved millions of lives. And our mandate – to protect those forced to flee and help them rebuild their lives in dignity – remains as crucial as ever.

And beyond the noise, another story is alive – a story of hope. Communities everywhere are still standing with refugees. Volunteers greeting families at airports. Teachers finding space in classrooms. Neighbours opening their doors. Companies offering jobs. Universities providing scholarships. Ordinary people are still doing extraordinary things, proving that humanity wins over hate.

And this is why it is such a pleasure to sit here beside Chief Sodea, the global winner of this year’s Nansen Refugee Award. He will describe to you, much better than I ever can, the power of local people who help those who find themselves – through no fault of their own – reliant on others.

His story demonstrates that solutions exist – and we must pull together to find more.

Next week, here in Geneva at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review, our key partners will gather. We will look together at ways to: strengthen asylum systems for swift, fair decisions; expand safe pathways such as resettlement, labour mobility, family reunification; invest in local partnerships and refugee-led organizations; harness innovation including digital tools for registration, financial support, education; and work with partners from sports, faith, academia and business to design effective responses. Together, from the ground up, we can overcome fear and division. We can keep hope alive.

UNHCR was born from the world’s determination to rebuild after war and from a shared belief that protecting refugees is a universal responsibility. That spirit of solidarity is needed now more than ever. The promise of asylum must be kept alive – and refugees must not be consigned to the margins. So today we send a clear message to every person forced to flee: you are not alone.

For more information, please contact:

• In Geneva, Matthew Saltmarsh: [email protected], +41 79 967 99 36