Checked Against Delivery
Thank you, Mr. President.
Let me also thank High Commissioner Salih for his first briefing to this Council. Denmark commends your leadership and dedication those forced to flee around the world.
Mr. President,
When UNHCR last briefed this Council, former High Commissioner Grandi spoke to us about a season of war. About an era in which international law was cast aside, and violence was the defining currency. Regrettably, that season continues today.
Over 117 million people forcibly displaced. The vast majority driven by conflict. Their hardship, and that of millions more, further worsened by economic and climate shocks across the globe.
Sudan remains the world's largest displacement crisis, with more than 14 million people forced to flee.
Persistent violence, shifting frontlines and continued external backing of the parties has led to many being uprooted time and time again.
In Ukraine, Russia’s illegal aggression has forced nearly 10 million people from their homes. They now face a fifth winter under relentless attack as Russian strikes on energy infrastructure threaten once again to leave millions without electricity, heating and water.
And in Gaza, the entire population of 2.1 million people are displaced and in need of shelter.
Mr. President,
Globally, the past year has seen significant developments and new drivers of displacement.
The conflict in the Gulf has displaced millions inside Iran and across the region.
The subsequent Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered an energy crisis and severed the main artery for Gulf fertilizer exports with dangerous knock-on effects.
As we heard, missed planting seasons mean failed harvests. Failed harvests mean hunger. And hunger moves people, within and across borders, often into the hands of those who profit from grievance.
The vicious cycle in which conflict transmits hunger globally, and hunger transmits displacement back must be broken.
Last year, however an as we heard this morning, also saw some of the largest returns in UNHCR's history. Nearly 15 million people went home, including in Syria and the DRC.
Denmark reiterates that return of refugees must be safe, voluntary and dignified.
Mr. President, against this backdrop, allow me to make three key recommendations.
First, too often displacement starts as a lifeline, but lasts a lifetime. Seven in ten of those displaced are now in protracted displacement. Emergency aid is not a long-term solution.
High Commissioner, we therefore welcome your “50 by 35 vision” to enable refugees in long-term displacement to move beyond aid dependency to greater self-reliance.
We salute those host countries that have taken important steps to make this vision a reality, to the benefit of both host communities and refugees.
Denmark is committed to supporting this process and we urge all parts of the UN development system as well as other donors to step up and assist.
Second, UNHCR is being asked to do more with less.
Denmark is proud to be a leading donor to this essential Agency and among the largest providers of unearmarked funding, allowing UNHCR to act where the need is greatest.
We strongly encourage others to do the same while also supporting host countries in responding to displacement.
Third, and finally,
As we heard so clearly form the High Commissioner, if we want fewer refugees and fewer displaced people, we must end and prevent the conflicts driving them in the first place. That is fundamentally the task of this Council.
Mr. President, in closing,
As we commemorated just two days ago down the hall, this year marks seventy-five years of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Its promise, written by those who knew what happens when every door seems to close, remains just as important today.
Our responsibilityto uphold that promise also remains clear. Denmark reaffirms its full support for UNHCR and for the Global Compact on Refugees.
You can count on us to continue to play our part.
Thank you.
