Refugee Convention turns 75 as UN warns on asylum

The Refugee Convention marked its 75th anniversary on Tuesday as the United Nations warned that the right to asylum is facing increasing political pressure worldwide.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih spoke at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, where the convention was opened for signature on July 28, 1951. He urged governments to move from managing displacement to resolving it.

Salih said debates about refugees and asylum were becoming increasingly politicised. He said people forced to flee were too often made scapegoats for wider social, economic and political anxieties.

UNHCR said 117.8 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced at the end of 2025, down from a record 123.2 million in 2024. It said the decline was the first in a decade.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the convention had saved millions of lives, but warned that its promise was under strain as conflicts multiply, persecution persists and the right to seek asylum is questioned, restricted or denied.

The agency is also facing financial pressure. UNHCR funding was cut by around 35 percent last year, and the agency shed nearly 5,000 jobs in 2025, more than a quarter of its workforce.