UN General Assembly re-elects Filippo Grandi as High Commissioner for refugees

United Nations General Assembly re-elected High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi for another two-and-a-half-year term on Monday, November 23. Ahead of the election, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had submitted his recommendation to the General Assembly to extend Grandi's mandate, an official press release said.

"The United Nations General Assembly today renewed the mandate of Filippo Grandi as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a further two-and-a-half-year period," UN Refugee Agency said in a press release.

The reappointed High Commissioner for Refugees Grandi is an Italian national and has been serving the post since January 1, 2016. He holds a 30-year experience working in refugee affairs for the United Nations.

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Grandi warns about Afghanistan

At the conclusion of a five-day visit to Afghanistan earlier, Grandi urged the international community to remain committed to the country at the critical juncture and called for greater support for Afghan refugees, internally displaced, and returnees ahead of a donor pledging conference in Geneva on 23 and 24 November.

He said that the current, upward trend of violence -- killing, terrorising, maiming and displacing Afghan civilians every day as exemplified once again by the recent attack in Kabul and must be stopped immediately. He stressed that a peace agreement provided it truly safeguarded the security, welfare and rights of all women and men in Afghanistan was the urgently necessary outcome of the current intra-Afghan talks, an official statement by the UNHRC said. Such an agreement is indispensable to end a conflict that not only devastates lives but also continues to be the main cause of forced displacement, it added.

During his visit to Kabul and to the provinces of Bamyan and Parwan, Grandi met President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, First Vice-President Amurallah Saleh, government ministers, provincial governors, and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation. He also spoke with communities and families affected by the conflict as well as with groups of returnees.

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(With ANI Inputs; Image - UNHRC)