US EditionIraqi Ex-President Salih on Track to Lead UN Refugee Agency and Take over From Grandi, Letter Says
Barham Salih, former Iraqi president, is poised to lead the U.N. refugee agency amid budget cuts and reduced aid from Western donors, U.N. officials said.
- On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres signaled that Barham Salih is on track to succeed Filippo Grandi as U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, per a letter shared with The Associated Press.
- U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres sent a letter dated Thursday to Ambassador Atsuyuki Oike, and diplomatic officials in Geneva confirmed its authenticity to the AP.
- Background: Salih, a native of Iraq's Kurdistan region, served as Iraq's president from 2018 to 2022, while Filippo Grandi took office on Jan. 1, 2016, with his term ending Dec. 31.
- Facing reduced aid, the Geneva-based refugee agency UNHCR has cut thousands of jobs and spending after sharply reduced foreign aid from the United States and Western countries.
- A final decision will be taken by the U.N. General Assembly in New York, and Alessandra Vellucci said the appointment must go through consultations with the UNHCR executive committee before an official U.N. announcement.
47 Articles
47 Articles
Former Iraqi President Barham Saleh has been appointed head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. In January he will succeed Italian Filippo Grandi, who has spent ten years at the helm of the UN agency. After years at the heart of his country's politics, this Iraqi Kurdish political personality is therefore moving towards the UN.
Former Iraqi President Barham Salih could become the next director of the United Nations (UN) refugee agency (UNHCR), according to a letter from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Anne Hidalgo will not bounce back to the UN. The outgoing Mayor of Paris has not been selected by António Guterres to take the lead of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Former Iraqi President Barham Saleh, who was appointed, reports Le Parisien, Friday, 12 December. His candidacy still needs to be formally approved before the UN General Assembly – which should only be a formality. He is to succeed Filippo G…
Barham Saleh will succeed Italian Filippo Grandi to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a post that Anne Hidalgo had wanted to obtain.
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