The UN chooses Iraqi Barham Salih as the new High Commissioner for Refugees

United Nations.- The UN General Assembly elected this Thursday former Iraqi President Barham Ahmed Salih (2018-2022) as the new High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for a five-year term that will begin on January 1, 2026.

Salih will replace the Italian Filippo Grandi, who has led UNHCR since 2016. Salih's appointment came at Guterres' proposal a few days ago and was approved today by consensus by the 193 member states. The new high commissioner takes office in a context of prolonged humanitarian crises and with more than 110 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, according to UNHCR. You can also read:https://deultimominuto.net/internacionales/migracion-venezolana-aporto/

Three-Decade Trajectory in Iraq

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, welcomed the decision of the General Assembly and expressed in a statement his "deepest gratitude" to Grandi for "his tireless efforts in the protection of refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless persons." Salih, president of Iraq between 2018 and 2022, has a career spanning more than three decades in public service in Iraq and the Kurdistan region, the note adds. Throughout his career, he has also been Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, in two stages, and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and Minister of Planning, playing a central role in the reconstruction of the country after the start of the war in 2003. You may be interested in: https://deultimominuto.net/internacionales/paises-de-la-onu-defienden-respuestas-urgentes-y-colectivas-a-crisis-ambientales-pese-a-eeuu/ According to the UN in a statement, Salih brings "high-level diplomatic, political and administrative experience", as well as "a humanitarian vision linked to his participation in crisis management, the defense of human rights and institutional reform processes".