Iraq's Barham Salih confirmed as new UNHCR head in historic move

UN General Assembly endorsed former president of Iraq to serve five-year term as head of refugee agency

Then-Iraqi President Barham Salih, soon to be head of the UNHCR, in Baghdad in March 2019. AP Photo

The UN General Assembly on Thursday approved Iraq’s former president Barham Salih as the next head of the UN refugee agency, as it faces the twin challenges of record levels of global displacement and deep funding cuts.

The 193 members of the General Assembly elected Mr Salih by consensus, marked by a bang of the gavel from Assembly President Annalena Baerbock. Diplomats in the chamber broke into applause as the decision was formalised.

Mr Salih, 65, will succeed Filippo Grandi, an Italian who steps down at the end of this month after a decade in the role. Mr Salih will serve a five-year term as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the option of seeking a second term.

A veteran Iraqi-Kurdish politician, he was chosen from a shortlist dominated by European candidates that included former Ikea chief executive Jesper Brodin of Sweden, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and former Swiss migration state secretary Christine Schraner Burgener.

In a statement, Mr Salih said he was honoured to have been elected and said his experience as a former refugee would shape his leadership.

“I know first-hand how protection and opportunity can change the course of a life,” he said, adding that his priority would be to uphold refugees’ rights and dignity and pursue durable solutions to displacement.

Only two non-Europeans have previously led the UNHCR – Japan’s Sadako Ogata and French-born Iranian Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan – underscoring the agency’s long-standing European dominance since its founding in 1950.

“By selecting an Iraqi Kurd for a job generally held by Europeans, and in sidelining a slate of European candidates, I think [Secretary General Antonio] Guterres is sending a message about the need for the UN to become more globally representative,” Richard Gowan, programme director of global issues and institutions at the International Crisis Group, told The National.

The UN chief has often avoided moves that could alienate major donors, but as he nears the end of his tenure, he may be more willing to challenge entrenched power imbalances in the world body's system, Mr Gowan noted.

He described Mr Salih as an intellectual and seasoned politician who, like Mr Guterres, originally trained as an engineer.

“The Secretary General may see a kindred spirit and also hope that someone who has managed to navigate Middle Eastern politics can also walk through the minefield of UN diplomacy and survive,” Mr Gowan said.

Mr Salih’s election comes at a difficult moment for the agency, which has been hit by sharp reductions in international aid since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, alongside tightening budgets from other major donors.

The funding shortfall has forced the UNHCR to decrease assistance, close programmes and lay off staff. The agency has shed nearly 5,000 jobs this year, more than a quarter of its workforce, according to the UNHCR.

In June, the agency said more than 118 million people worldwide had been displaced by conflict, persecution and disasters, almost double the number a decade ago.

Mr Salih was Iraq’s president from 2018 to 2022. He held senior roles including deputy prime minister and played a prominent part in Iraq’s reconstruction and economic recovery after the 2003 US-led invasion.

He was previously prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and founded the American University in Iraq.