UK Statement at the UNHCR Pledging Conference 2025
Statement delivered by the UK's Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Kumar Iyer, at the UN Refugee Agency's Pledging Conference.
Thank you, High Commissioner, for your opening remarks.
I want to start by expressing the UK’s wholehearted support for UNHCR and your leadership, Filippo.
Over the past decade, you have guided the organisation through profound global change.
Your personal leadership has been instrumental to the organisations success and as you depart you should be extremely proud of what you have achieved.
A decade marked by rising conflict and instability, that continues to drive millions from their homes.
By next year, 136 million people are expected to be displaced.
While financial pressures threaten to leave the most vulnerable behind.
In this context, there has never been a greater need to focus on solutions.
This is the moment that demands transformation.
We must accelerate efforts to build an international system that delivers long-term, durable outcomes for refugees.
Your “Sustainable Responses” initiative is central to this shift – championing inclusion and reducing reliance on costly parallel systems.
But success requires meaningful collaboration: integrating development planning into humanitarian responses from day one.
It will be equally vital to fully embed displacement responses within UN80 reforms and the humanitarian reset, ensuring the UN system that emerges is better equipped to serve those forced to flee.
We commend host countries for progressive, inclusive policies and reaffirm the UK’s commitment to responsibility sharing. We will continue to support host nations through the tools available to us.
Unfortunately, as I know you and others will understand, our budget cycle prevents us from announcing our pledge today, let me be clear: the UK remains firmly committed to the multilateral system and to UNHCR.
This year, our contributions have already surpassed last year’s, totalling £91 million ($120 million).
We will continue to provide flexible core funding, to enable the UNHCR to respond swiftly to urgent needs.
We believe flexible core funding is vital to empower UNHCR to make quick decisions where urgent necessary needs arise.
In closing, I want to look forward to the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review in December – a critical opportunity to reflect and strengthen our collective efforts.
We encourage all partners to sustain momentum toward the Global Compact’s goals.
Thank you, High Commissioner.