President Higgins praises UN High Commissioner for Refugees for his “exceptional commitment” to refugees worldwide

President Michael D. Higgins has issued a statement following his meeting with Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday.

In the statement, President Higgins praised Grandi for his “exceptional commitment” to refugees worldwide throughout his almost ten-year tenure.

The meeting marks the continuation of discussions held between the two throughout Grandi’s term as High Commissioner, including a 2019 meeting at Áras an Uachtaráin, which was also attended by refugees from Syria, Vietnam, Iran, and Sudan who had resettled in Ireland.

President Higgins addressed the global context in which the meeting took place, citing interconnected crises of hunger, inequality, climate change, biodiversity loss and conflict. He noted that these factors are “leading to large increases in those fleeing from their homes.”

Referring to global hunger statistics, Higgins stated: “Acute hunger grew for the sixth consecutive year in 2024, with more than 295 million people in 53 countries and territories experiencing the worst forms of acute food insecurity."

"The total number of people facing famine or at risk of famine more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, with over 95% of this increase in Gaza and the Sudan, with populations also experiencing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in South Sudan, Haiti and Mali.”

President Higgins cited that “today, the entire population of Gaza is now facing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity, with over 80% of cropland and 83% of agricultural wells having been destroyed.”

He noted that “UNICEF has reported at least 5,119 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone,” and that “66 children have already died of malnutrition.”

President Higgins also highlighted the impact on healthcare workers, stating that “at least 1,580 medical personnel have lost their lives, with a further 180 in Israeli detention centres.”

Higgins emphasised the moral force of international agreements, saying, “Statements agreed by the General Assembly of the United Nations, while not having an immediate mechanism of enforcement in a military sense, have a deep moral significance.”

On humanitarian access, Higgins said: “There are 20,000 mothers in Gaza who are being subjected to conditions of dehydration and malnutrition,” reporting that “There are grieving families dealing with the loss of the member of the family who sought out to gather food with the United Nations last week accepting as a verified figure 784 people shot at feeding stations.”

President Higgins included that the reduction from 400 UNRWA feeding stations to four run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has forced people to “pass through long areas that are regarded as militarised zones,” where “the vast majority of those killed [are] women and children.”

He concluded by stating: “The universal acceptance of human rights is our best and only strategy for achieving peace and sustainability for future generations.”