GENEVA:
It is estimated that 2.5 million refugees worldwide will have to be resettled next year, the United States announced on Tuesday but also other nations reinstall access to resettlement.
The UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, said the needs were slightly down compared to this year, while about 2.9 million refugees should be reinstalled.
“This is mainly due to the situation modified in Syria, which has allowed voluntary yields,” HCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told journalists in Geneva.
“We see some people withdraw from resettlement processes in favor of plans to go home to rebuild,” she added.
Mantoo said that in 2026, the largest refugee populations that should be reinstalled were the Afghans, the Syrians, the South Sudanese, the Rohingyas of Myanmar and the Congolese.
Most refugees will need to reinstall large host countries, including Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Uganda, she said.
The announcement came while the resettlement efforts of the UNHCR face imposing obstacles.
“In 2025 … The resettlement quotas should be the lowest in two decades, falling below the levels observed even during the Pandemic COVID-19, when many countries have interrupted their programs,” said Mantoo.
Part of the decline is linked to the United States – the world’s largest refugee notice – which has now closed.
Shortly after his return to the White House in January, President Donald Trump interrupted the resettlement program for American refugees
