UN sounds alarm on politicisation of refugees, asylum seekers

Barham Salih said while countries had the right to exercise border controls, refugees were a 'unique category' fleeing violence and persecution, not merely people 'seeking a better life'. (EPA Images pic)GENEVA: Refugees fleeing persecution too often face restrictions on their right to seek asylum, with the debate around protection becoming increasingly politicised, the United Nations warned Tuesday.UN refugees chief Barham Salih urged the world to move from managing sky-high displacement to seeking to resolve it, at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention."We gather at a time of increasingly politicised debates about refugees and asylum," said Iraqi ex-president Salih, himself a former refugee."Too often, people forced to flee become scapegoats for wider social, economic and political anxieties," he said at the UN's Palais des Nations in Geneva, where the convention was opened for signature on July 28, 1951."Too often, refugees are portrayed as burdens or threats rather than as fellow human beings."Some 117.8 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes at the end of 2025, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency -- down from 2024's record 123.2 million.Of those 117.8 million, 35.6 million were refugees under UNHCR's mandate, with two-thirds coming from Venezuela, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan.Last year's drop was the first in a decade, as conflicts in Iran and Lebanon spurred many refugees hosted there to return home, often under risky circumstances, including to Syria and Afghanistan.'Questioned, restricted, denied'In a message, UN chief Antonio Guterres said that the convention, agreed in the aftermath of World War II, had "saved millions of lives"."Today, that promise is under strain. Conflicts are multiplying, persecution persists, and growing numbers are forced to flee.

Meanwhile, the right to seek asylum is too often questioned, restricted, or denied."The number of people forcibly displaced worldwide has almost doubled in the last decade -- while funding has slumped.The US was by far UNHCR's biggest donor but has dramatically scaled back overseas aid, while other countries are also tightening their budgets.UNHCR's funding was cut by around 35% last year. It shed nearly 5,000 jobs in 2025 -- more than a quarter of its workforce."Undoubtedly, the budget cuts have had a huge impact on our ability to…