Türkiye Seeks Key UN Role with Candidacy for UNHCR Head

Türkiye has officially nominated its UN envoy, Ahmet Yildiz, as a candidate for the position of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

High Commissioner Filippo Grandi’s 10-year tenure is coming to an end, and Türkiye and several countries have put forward nominations to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who also held the position in 2005-2015, The Caspian Post reports, citing Turkish media.

Yildiz outlined his vision for the role to Anadolu, anchoring it in operational excellence, comprehensive coordination with all stakeholders, transparent governance and a revived emphasis on the UNHCR’s vital work.

To have a vision, Yildiz said, “You need an experience. As a country, we have experience. As a diplomat, I have quite big experience.”

Before becoming the Turkish envoy to the UN in 2024, Yildiz’s 37-year career took him to Bosnia, Iraq, Libya and Syria, working with refugees, forcibly displaced people and immigrants.

Yildiz noted that instead of the global refugee problem being solved, “conflicts are increasing, deteriorating, and the number of displaced persons, forcibly displaced persons, are increasing decade by decade.”

He said to navigate those treacherous paths, drawing on the vision of the UNHCR Founding Fathers’ vision for increased burden sharing within the UNHCR, is essential.

The “vision by our elders, founding fathers, was that this refugee and migration problem may create some conditions for some countries, especially neighboring countries to the conflict zones, may bring them a burden they cannot cope without international cooperation. We should build on this, and we are live witnesses that during the Syrian crisis, no country can manage it, even if you mobilize your own resources,” he said.

But Yildiz voiced concern over signals from some countries that they may cut contributions to the organization, while stressing that its future lies in modernization through new technologies, artificial intelligence, and stronger field operations.