UN marks World Refugee Day with appeal for inclusion

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, has urged governments and societies not to view migrants solely as a burden, ahead of World Refugee Day on Saturday.

"Every day, refugees contribute to the communities that have welcomed them — as workers, students, neighbours, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs and leaders. Given the opportunity, they rebuild their lives and help strengthen the societies around them," Salih said in a statement on Friday.

Salih said World Refugee Day was an occasion to recognize the courage and determination of the nearly 42 million people worldwide who have been forced to flee their home countries because of war, violence and persecution.

Millions remain trapped in dependency and rely on increasingly scarce humanitarian assistance to survive, he said.

But protection and aid alone are not enough, Salih added.

"They need opportunities to rebuild their lives with dignity. Being a refugee is meant to be a temporary condition, not a lifelong fate."

Salih reaffirmed the goal of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to halve within a decade the number of refugees living in protracted displacement and dependent on humanitarian assistance.

According to UNHCR's latest annual report, 5.4 million people fled violence and persecution across international borders in 2025.

At the same time, the number of people returning home increased. A total of 14.7 million displaced people returned to their regions or countries of origin, including 4.4 million refugees and 10.3 million internally displaced persons, the report said.