Good morning, this is Michelle. The UN’s new refugee high commissioner, Barham Salih, kicked off his first month and a half in the job with a packed travel agenda, from refugee camps in Chad to the Turkey-Syrian border to Dubai’s humanitarian hub.
The former Iraqi president’s first moves offer a glimpse into his priorities, his strategy to fill the cash-strapped agency’s coffers and his cautious approach to fraught geopolitics. |
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UN high commissioner for refugees Barham Salih at an interview with the Associated Press, in Rome, where he met with Pope Leo, 26 January 2026. (Keystone/AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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Barham Salih’s appointment as UN high commissioner for refugees surprised many in Geneva last year. At a time of financial strain – the UN refugee agency had just shed 5,000 posts and seen its budget drop by 20 per cent – the safer choice may have been another European with access to western capitals, offering continuity.
Instead, UN secretary general António Guterres chose a former Iraqi president and lifelong Kurdish politician, shaped by exile and Iraq’s fractured politics. The appointment marks a departure from the technocratic profile of his predecessor Filippo Grandi, a career humanitarian and UN insider, and a return to an era where the agency was steered by senior political figures such as Guterres himself or former Dutch prime minister Ruud Lubbers.
Read the full story on Geneva Solutions.
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Here's what else is happening
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🇺🇳Mike Waltz: ‘The Security Council will never move to Geneva’.
Washington’s top UN diplomat was in Geneva on Wednesday, where he visited several UN agencies as well as the ICRC. He regretted that UN80 reforms and budget cuts had not come sooner.
Le Temps Via Geneva Solutions (EN)
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🇺🇸Appointment of US envoy in Geneva raises hopes for UN engagement.
The White House announced that Todd Steggerda, a lawyer and former US Navy pilot, was selected as ambassador to the UN in Geneva, subject to congressional approval. The post has been vacant since president Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.
Reuters (EN)
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🎥Geneva human rights film festival to highlight authoritarian excesses.
The role of international Geneva, amid threats to multilateralism, will also be discussed.
Blue News (EN)
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🏛️IPU reports most lawmakers face intimidation, online abuse dominant.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union said over 70 per cent of lawmakers in Argentina, Benin, Italy, Malaysia and the Netherlands experienced violence on- and offline.
Arete News (EN)
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🇵🇸Compliant aid: Who are the Israel-approved NGOs scaling up in Gaza?
An investigation found that some organisations repeat Israeli talking points, including the denial of a famine in Gaza, and work closely with its military.
The New Humanitarian (EN)
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