States pledge $1.16 billion to UNHCR in Geneva
Keystone-SDA
The Geneva-based UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has received pledges of $1.16 billion for 2026.
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The agency has already cut nearly 5,000 jobs as a result of cuts by the United States and other countries.
With the addition of contributions from UNHCR’s national partner associations, the amount pledged on Tuesday at a donors’ meeting is even closer to $1.5 billion. “This is more than last year” at the same time, said High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, who will be leaving the UN agency at the end of December after ten years at the helm. But “concerns remain”, he told participants.
Among several countries, he thanked Switzerland for its “significant” announcement for next year. Bern has pledged CHF34 million, CHF18 million of which is unconditional, with the remainder earmarked for programmes such as Ukraine.
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But Switzerland cannot claim to be one of the biggest contributors, even though former Secretary of State for Migration Christine Schraner Burgener is a candidate to succeed Grandi. According to observers, Germany, one of the main donors, is exerting more influence in an attempt to persuade UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to appoint a Secretary of State from that country, Niels Annen.
Political support
While waiting to find out who the next head of the UNHCR will be, Grandi welcomed a “strong signal” for next year and “political support”. He called for the promises to be implemented swiftly to avoid cash flow uncertainty at the start of the year.
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This year, the UNHCR has been one of the bodies most affected by cuts from the US, which remains the largest donor, and other countries.
Last October, the High Commissioner announced that the number of posts cut had reached almost 5,000. Since then, “we have further reduced the level of spending”, Grandi admitted on Tuesday. Some additional jobs have had to be cut in certain operations, he said, without specifying the number.
The budget approved for 2026 stands at $8.5 billion, down by almost 20% on the previous year. The High Commissioner stressed the importance of flexible funding to be able to help more than 135 million refugees and displaced persons next year.
Almost all of the UNHCR’s funding comes from voluntary contributions. “Forced displacement concerns us all”, said the High Commissioner.
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Translated from French by DeepL/mga
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