Barham Salih makes Kenya first official visit as UNHCR chief

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Just over a week after assuming office as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Barham Salih made Kenya the destination of his first official visit.

During the visit, Salih praised Kenya’s approach to refugee inclusion, highlighting access to healthcare, education, and economic participation.

“I saw how refugees have access to healthcare, education, and play an active part in society, benefiting the whole community,” Salih wrote on X. “This is how we move from aid dependency to self-reliance.”

He emphasized, however, that Kenya cannot shoulder the burden alone. “Kenya is doing its part. It needs greater international support,” Salih said.

The former Iraqi president described Kenya’s progress on refugee inclusion as “commendable,” adding that it “offers valuable lessons for the world.”

Kenya hosts more than 850,000 refugees, primarily from Somalia and South Sudan, most of whom live in the sprawling Dadaab and Kakuma camps, according to UNHCR. Both camps have been severely affected by funding cuts, leading to reduced food aid, rising malnutrition, and increasingly difficult living conditions.

Salih formally assumed office as head of the UN refugee agency on January 1, marking the culmination of a decades-long career shaped by exile, opposition to dictatorship, and senior leadership roles in both the Kurdistan Region and the federal government in Baghdad.

On December 18, he was elected to lead UNHCR, becoming the first person from the Middle East to head the agency since the late 1970s. His appointment was approved by consensus at the UN General Assembly, and he began his five-year term on Thursday.

Salih’s appointment brings his personal journey full circle. A former refugee himself, he now oversees the world’s largest refugee agency at a time of unprecedented global displacement.

Born on September 12, 1960, in Sulaimani, Salih was arrested twice as a teenager by Iraq’s former Baath regime due to his links to the Kurdish national movement. He spent 43 days in detention before completing high school and later fled to the United Kingdom to avoid further persecution.

Salih is also the founder of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS). He served as Iraq’s eighth president from October 2, 2018, until 2022, in a largely ceremonial role.