Overview
- The General Assembly's vote completes Secretary‑General António Guterres’s nomination process and sets a five‑year mandate with the option of renewal.
- Salih will succeed Filippo Grandi at the end of December, with the leadership handover scheduled for January 1, 2026.
- UNHCR reports about 118 million people displaced worldwide as of mid‑2025, intensifying operational demands.
- Deep funding shortfalls have forced reductions in assistance, program closures and nearly 5,000 staff layoffs this year, according to the agency.
- The Iraqi‑Kurdish statesman is only the third non‑European to lead UNHCR and was chosen from a shortlist heavy with European candidates, including Jesper Brodin, Anne Hidalgo and Christine Schraner Burgener.