Briefing by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - Security Council, 9905th meeting

‘You Are Undermining Your Own Stability’ High Commissioner for Refugees Tells Security Council, Warning against Retrenching from Aid, Multilateralism

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 02:10:00
• Production Date: 28 April 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: FILIPPO GRANDI
• Corporate Name: SECURITY COUNCIL; UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGUEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: COOPERATION; ECONOMIC COOPERATION; FINANCIAL CRISIS; GLOBAL FINANCIAL INTEGRATION; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE; INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION; INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY; MEMBERS; REFUGEES; UNITED NATIONS BUDGET; UNITED NATIONS FINANCES; UNITED NATIONS ROLE; MEMBERSHIP; ACCOUNTABILITY; HUMANITARIAN CRISIS; POLITICAL CRISIS; WAR; HUNGER; POLITICAL CONDITIONS; FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE; POLITICAL COOPERATION
• MAMS Id: 3365306
• Parent Id: 3364440

Description

 In what he described as possibly his last address to the Security Council, the head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned today that “violence has become the defining currency of our age” — from Sudan to Ukraine, from the Sahel to Myanmar, and beyond — and urged the 15-member organ to fulfil its responsibility for maintaining peace. 

Despite knowing the gravity of the crises, the Council’s inaction itself is “an indictment”, said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, asserting that the organ has “chronically failed to live up to” its responsibility. 

He painted a bleak picture of today’s wars, driven by the “perverse, yet powerful delusion: that peace is for the weak”, where victory is pursued not through negotiation but by inflicting unbearable suffering. As a result, “the norms of international humanitarian law… are cast aside, dismissed as easily as the thousands of lives destroyed in the pursuit of supremacy”. 

Quoting Pope Francis, he reminded members that “every war represents not only a defeat of politics but also a shameful surrender”. 

Highlighting the plight of 123 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, he described their hope for safety and eventual return, noting especially the devastating situation in Sudan, where “one out of every three people” has been displaced. Refugee-receiving countries are doing their part. “You must be more committed and more united to do yours,” he urged.

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