Barham Salih has experienced torture and exile firsthand. Now,four decades after his own displacement,he leads the UN refugee agency as it confronts a funding shortfall and escalating needs.
The former Iraqi president, 65, became the frist former head of state to lead the united Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the beginning of the year.
“It is a profound moral and legal responsibility,” Mr. Salih stated during his first trip in the new role – a visit to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
“I know the pain of losing a home, losing your friends,” he added.
Kakuma Refugee Camp and Durable Solutions
Kakuma refugee camp, visited by Mr. Salih on January 11, 2026, is East Africa’s second largest, sheltering approximately 300,000 people from South Sudan, Somalia, uganda, and Burundi. The camp has been operational since 1992.
Mr. Salih emphasized the need to prevent the continuation of such situations,praising Kenya’s initiative to transform its camps into economic hubs.
“we should not only protect refugees… but also enable them to have more durable solutions,” he said. “The better way is to have peace established in their own countries… nowhere is nicer than home.”
A History of Displacement and Resilience
Born in 1960 in Sulaymaniyah, a Kurdish stronghold seeking self-determination, Mr. Salih is the son of a judge and a women’s rights activist. He first went into exile in Iran in 1974, attending a school for refugees for a year.
Returning to Iraq in 1979, and already a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), he was arrested twice by Saddam Hussein’s regime.
“I was released after 43 days after having suffered torture, electric shocks, beating,” he recounted.
Despite this ordeal, he excelled academically, ranking among Iraq’s top three high school students before fleeing with his family to Britain. There,he earned a degree in computer engineering and a doctorate.
Filippo Grandi, his predecessor at UNHCR, noted Mr. Salih’s “real experience of exile… He brings a personal perspective of displacement, which is very important.”
Following Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, Mr. Salih pursued a successful career in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq’s federal government, serving as president from 2018 to 2022.
Challenges Facing UNHCR
The UNHCR reports that refugee numbers have doubled to 117 million in the last decade, while funding has significantly decreased, particularly since Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
UN Secretary-General Antonio guterres lauded Mr. Salih’s experience as a “crisis negotiator and architect of national reforms” at a critical time for the agency, which faces “very serious challenges.”
“We have had very serious budget cuts last year. A lot of staff have been reduced,” Mr. Salih acknowledged.
“But we have to understand, we have to adapt,” he said, advocating for “more efficiency and accountability” while urging the international community to fulfill its “legal and moral obligations to help.”
Published – January 12, 2026 11:04 pm IST