US EditionUN elects former Iraqi President to lead UN refugee agency
Barham Salih, former Iraqi President, begins a five-year term as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, bringing leadership and refugee experience to the Geneva-based agency.
- On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly approved former Iraqi President Barham Ahmed Salih by acclamation to lead the Geneva-based UN High Commissioner for Refugees for five years.
- At the recommendation of Secretary-General António Guterres, Barham Ahmed Salih was chosen for his senior diplomatic, political and administrative leadership experience, including as President of Iraq and in the Kurdistan Regional Government, plus his work as a refugee, crisis negotiator and reform architect.
- At 19, Salih was arrested twice by Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, detained 43 days before fleeing to the United Kingdom.
- He will succeed Filippo Grandi as the UN refugee agency faces funding cuts, and Salih said his `refugee experience` will guide his leadership approach.
- Notably, Salih is the first UNHCR head from the Middle East since the late 1970s as the United Nations General Assembly adopted 35 Third Committee texts, some opponents called 'biased' and 'one-sided'.
51 Articles
51 Articles
The former Iraqi president had fled to Britain at the time of Saddam. From January he will take the place of Filippo Grandi. A perfect storm awaits him: more conflicts, less resources and a growing question of the right to asylum
For the first time, a former Iraqi president is at the head of the UNHCR: Barham Salih is now head of the UN Refugee Agency, which supports people who have fled abroad for persecution in their home country.
General Assembly Adopts 35 Texts of Its Third Committee, Appoints Barham Ahmed Salih United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The General Assembly today appointed former Iraqi President Barham Ahmed Salih as the new head of the United Nations refugee agency and adopted 35 texts emerging from its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural). Acting on the Secretary-General’s proposal, the Assembly elected by acclamation Mr. Salih as UN High Commissioner for Refugees for a period of five years beginni
The UN appoints Barham Ahmed Salih as High Commissioner for Refugees. His experience and leadership will be key in a context of global crisis.
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