{"id":5278,"date":"2025-12-13T00:18:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T00:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5278"},"modified":"2025-12-13T00:18:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T00:18:49","slug":"former-iraqi-president-salih-slated-to-lead-un-refugee-agency-united-nations-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5278","title":{"rendered":"Former Iraqi President Salih slated to lead UN refugee agency | United Nations News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Salih, who fled Saddam Hussein\u2019s regime, campaigned for job on basis that he knows what it is like to be a refugee.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 12 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">12 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Former Iraqi President Barham Salih is on course to become the next head of the United Nations refugee agency after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommended him for the job.<\/p>\n<p>A signed letter from Guterres, dated Thursday and addressed to Atsuyuki Oike, Japan\u2019s top diplomat in Geneva and chair of UNHCR\u2019s executive committee, that was seen by news agencies, confirmed the appointment pending formal approval.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>All going according to plan, Salih, 65, will succeed Filippo Grandi, whose second five-year term as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expires on December 31, becoming the first non-Western head of the Geneva-based agency in about half a century.<\/p>\n<p>Alessandra Vellucci, chief spokesperson for the UN office, told reporters that the appointment would have to go through \u201ca proper process\u201d that includes consultations with the UNHCR committee, with a final decision taken by the UN General Assembly in New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe process is ongoing. And once it\u2019s finished, there will be an official announcement made by the United Nations,\u201d said Vellucci.<\/p>\n<p>Salih, who studied engineering in the United Kingdom to escape persecution under the rule of Saddam Hussein, served as Iraqi president from 2018 to 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Originally from Iraq\u2019s Kurdish region, Salih said during his campaign for the job that he believed deeply in the refugee agency\u2019s mission \u201cbecause I have lived it\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy vision is a UNHCR that places refugees at the centre, recognising that humanitarian aid is meant to be temporary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The expected succession comes at the end of a devastating year, with UNHCR having slashed its 2026 budget by nearly a fifth to $8.5bn, with 5,000 job losses coming down the line, even as global displacement spikes amid conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Key donors like the US under President Donald Trump have cut contributions, and others have shifted funds to defence.<\/p>\n<p>Salih\u00a0aims to broaden funding sources, tap Islamic finance, and enlist private-sector partners through a proposed \u201cGlobal CEO Humanitarian Council\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He faces growing Western restrictions on asylum, amid anti-immigration sentiment, as well as frustration in poorer states sheltering refugees.<\/p>\n<p>About a dozen candidates competed for the role, including politicians, an IKEA executive and a TV personality. More than half were European.<\/p>\n<p>The last non-Western head of the agency was Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan of Iran, who served from 1966 to 1977.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salih, who fled Saddam Hussein\u2019s regime, campaigned for job on basis that he knows what it is like to be a refugee. Published On 12 Dec 202512 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Former Iraqi President Barham Salih is on course to become the next head of the United Nations [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}