UN Warns of Sharp Decline in Refugee Relocation Amid Rising Global Displacement
2025 Will See Only 2.5 Million Refugees Relocated as Host Countries Cut Intake to Record Lows, Threatening Humanitarian Gains.
Watan-The United Nations announced that around 2.5 million refugees will need to be relocated next year from the countries they are currently in to others that have agreed to host them. UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said in a statement on Wednesday:
“Although the number remains high, the annual relocation needs have dropped from 2.9 million this year to 2.5 million next year, even as the number of refugees globally continues to rise.”
The UN explained that some people are withdrawing their asylum requests and planning to return home to rebuild their lives. It noted that the largest groups of refugees who will require relocation next year include:
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Afghans (573,400)
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Syrians (442,400)
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South Sudanese (258,200)
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Sudanese (246,800)
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Rohingya (233,300)
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Congolese (179,500)
The statement added that the UNHCR expects the 2025 resettlement quotas set by host countries to be the lowest in two decades—lower even than the levels recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many countries suspended their relocation programs.
The UNHCR spokesperson warned that this dramatic drop in available places threatens to erase the substantial progress made in recent years.
This announcement comes as the United States has suspended its refugee relocation program, despite having been one of the top contributors—taking in more than 100,000 refugees last year.
This type of operation is both special and rare: it involves transferring refugees from a first country of asylum to another country that has agreed to host them and eventually grant them permanent residency.
Humanitarian organizations, including the UNHCR, are facing severe financial challenges due to funding cuts, which threaten their ability to respond to increasing needs and to provide adequate conditions for the safe and dignified return of refugees and internally displaced persons.
In a previous statement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi emphasized that the scale of the humanitarian tragedies cannot be fully captured by refugee numbers alone. He stressed that the suffering should motivate the international community to take urgent action to address the root causes of displacement.
Grandi added that the time has come for warring parties to respect the basic laws of war and international law, noting that the search for peace must be at the heart of efforts to find lasting solutions for refugees and others who have been forced to flee their homes.
