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STORY: UNHCR / GLOBAL REFUGEE FORUM OPENING
TRT: 06:01
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 15 DECEMBER 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Various shots, delegates
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees:
“This past year has been defined by one storm after another. Altogether a perfect storm, really. Witness the unending atrocities committed in Sudan, in Ukraine, in Gaza and in Myanmar. In the past few days alone, we have seen yet another kindergarten, yet another apartment building and yet another hospital bombed, killing dozens and displacing thousands more, adding to the millions already forced to flee senseless violence in search of safety. In a global context in which hate is allowed to increasingly spread racist divisions, as yesterday’s appalling massacre against the Jewish community in Sydney sadly proves. A year when refugees were frequently vilified, scapegoated in so many places. With their suffering cynically used by traffickers for profit, and their situation by politicians to gain votes for the next election. A year of repeated attacks on the 1951 Refugee Convention and on the very institution of asylum. And of course, a year when the sudden, drastic, irresponsible and short-sighted collapse of foreign assistance continues to devastate the aid sector, inflicting so much unnecessary pain in its wake; on refugees of course, but also on all those — all of you — working to bring whatever relief you still can.”
3. Various shots, opening session of the global refugee forum progress review
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees:
“We have come a long way. It is important to remember that. I know that the temptation is to always focus on the day’s problems. Indeed, there are real emergencies that must be addressed, real obstacles to overcome. And sometimes we are tempted to despair. But if we are to stay the course, if we are to remain on track, we must also learn to lift our gaze. To understand where we are going, we need to remember where we came from. And so, my main message today, as we open this Progress Review of the Global Refugee Forum, is that we have already accomplished much. We should not shy away from that — on the contrary, now is the time to build on it.”
5. Various shots, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi and former refugee and athlete, Zakia Khudadadi at opening session
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees:
“The future of responses to forced displacement lies in strengthening the capacity of national systems to include refugees — not in setting up parallel systems. This will not only ensure that responses are more sustainable, it will also mitigate the impact of future financial shocks by reducing dependency on foreign aid. It will be critical to continue forging new and innovative partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders — the private sector, refugee-led organizations, international financial institutions, climate-related funds, academia, civil society and of course refugees themselves — each contributing their talent, expertise, and determination in the search for solutions. We would not have made such progress had it not been for the Compact and its pledging framework.”
7. Various shots, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi and former refugee and athlete, Zakia Khudadadi at opening session
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Zakia Khudadadi, former refugee and paralympic athlete:
“Education gives the tools to move towards a more just future with opportunities, everything becomes possible. I will tell you to all the women in Afghanistan and elsewhere and the refugees around the world. And hope is alive, you are not alone, hope is a universal language of peace, freedom and dignity. My message is a call for courage, continue to dream, to fight for your right and to believe and for a better future. I am committed to sport and peace, because I deeply believe in the power of sport to transform my life and myself, even with my many challenges.”
9. Various shots, former refugee and athlete, Zakia Khudadadi at opening session
The Global Refugee Forum (GRF) Progress Review, co-hosted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Switzerland, runs from 15 to 17 December in Geneva and brings together senior government officials, civil society, the private sector, academia, faith leaders and, most importantly, refugees, to advance new solutions and assess how pledges made over the past years are being translated into real impact.
The key global gathering on refugee issues falls at a moment when reaffirming global support for refugees is essential. Asylum is increasingly politicized and undermined, humanitarian funding is shrinking, refugee rights are under pressure, and global solidarity is being tested.
Now is not the moment to step back – it is the moment to reinforce partnerships and send a clear message to refugees and host countries: you are not alone. Across countries and communities, support for refugees continues. More than 3,400 pledges have been recorded across 47 thematic and regional areas since the first GRF took place in 2019, involving over 1,300 partners. Two thirds are fulfilled or in progress.
