The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has delivered a stark rebuke of the international community’s failure to uphold humanitarian law in conflict zones across the world.
Speaking before the UN Security Council on Monday, Grandi condemned the widespread suffering caused by violent conflicts in countries such as Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti.
“Thousands of lives have been destroyed in the pursuit of supremacy,” Grandi stated, pointing to a global pattern where “international humanitarian law has been dismissed and cast aside.” His remarks painted a grim picture of a world increasingly defined by the devastation of war, with “violence becoming the currency of our age.”
Forcibly displaced individuals, he noted, continue to bear the heaviest burdens. An estimated 123 million people worldwide have been displaced by conflict. Among them, Sudan has become one of the worst-hit regions.
Since the onset of its civil war, one-third of Sudan’s population has been displaced. Grandi described the situation as “a situation that frankly defies description,” citing the compounded horrors of violence, disease, starvation, climate shocks, and sexual violence.
Ukraine, now in its third year of war following Russia’s invasion, has also seen mass displacement. “Ten million people have been displaced by the war,” he said, with “seven million now refugees living outside the country,” enduring what he called a “terrible toll.”
Meanwhile, the refugee crisis in Myanmar continues to fester, particularly for the Rohingya population. Grandi noted that “stagnation has defined the response in Myanmar,” leaving hundreds of thousands languishing in camps in Bangladesh for the past eight years, wholly dependent on humanitarian assistance.
At the heart of his address was the call for durable peace rooted in trust and safety.
“Refugees and displaced people will not return to their communities unless they are confident that the terms of peace are durable, for them and for their country.”
Filippo Grandi
Council Urged To Prioritize Human Lives
Grandi emphasized that true recovery hinges on more than temporary aid. “Promoting security and self-reliance is essential to ending humanitarian crises,” he said. But for peace to take root, he argued, there must be genuine commitment. “Peace cannot be made passively,” he added.
In a direct challenge to the Security Council, Grandi called out its chronic failure to prevent or resolve conflicts. “Preventing and stopping wars is your primary responsibility,” he told the 15-member body. “This body has chronically failed to live up to” that obligation.
Despite the bleak landscape, Grandi urged the UN to remain vigilant and proactive. “There is now an opportunity to break this dangerous inertia,” he said, referencing recent returns to Syria. Since December 8, over one million displaced Syrians have returned home, and more are expected to follow. Grandi used this moment to advocate for easing sanctions, which he believes will help drive early recovery and attract vital investments.
“To minimise the risk that the returning Syrians are taking, I am asking you to take some risks yourselves,” he implored the Council.
However, he cautioned against complacency. Grandi warned of a global “retrenchment away from aid, away from multilateralism, even away from life-saving assistance.”
He acknowledged that state concerns like national interest and defense are valid, but argued that these priorities should not come at the expense of humanitarian support. “These are not incompatible with aid, quite the contrary,” he said.
Grandi reminded the Council that forced displacement affects every nation. He concluded with a resounding reminder of the Council’s collective duty: “To end war, to bring peace.”
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