news.un.org
2026-06-19
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a message calling for stronger support for people forced to flee and the communities that have welcomed them.
"As divisions deepen across our world, new and protracted conflicts are compelling millions of women, children and men to seek safety far from home," he said.
He stressed that "these turbulent times" call for renewed solidarity and robust action to protect refugees. x202F
A difficult choice
"Fleeing home to seek safety is one of the hardest choices anyone can make. I know that from personal experience," said Mr. Salih, who as a young man fled repression in Iraq.
The High Commissioner insisted that "while a person may, for a time, be defined as a refugee, becoming a refugee should not define a person's life."
He warned that millions of refugees "find themselves trapped in dependency, relying on a dwindling amount of aid for their daily survival."
Tackling prolonged displacement
Although humanitarian assistance remains indispensable to saving lives during emergencies, too many refugees can spend years, or even decades, in prolonged displacement.