Budget Cut, UNHCR Fires Thousands Of Workers

JAKARTA - The UN Agency for refugees, UNHCR, announced a significant cut in its activities after the humanitarian budget dropped dramatically compared to last year.

"Looking at the difficult financial reality, UNHCR was forced to reduce the overall operational scale," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in an official statement quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Tuesday, June 17.

UNHCR will only focus on activities that have the most impact on refugees with a slimmer regional head office and bureau structure.

As part of saving measures, UNHCR has closed offices or reduced staff in various countries, as well as cut nearly 50 percent of senior positions at Geneva headquarters and regional bureaus.

In total, about 3,500 positions will be removed, following hundreds of contract workers who have been dismissed earlier.

UNHCR estimates the move will cut staff costs globally by up to 30 percent.

Although priority is still given to areas with the most urgent refugee needs, a number of important programs in the fields of financial assistance, health, education, and water and sanitation are also affected.

The UN agency said it was working with its partners and host countries to minimize the impact of the budget reduction.

UNHCR is also exploring new concepts, such as sharing offices with other UN agencies and utilizing technology for efficiency.

"We are very grateful to donors who have increased or contributed since the beginning of this year," said Gandi.

"Aid provides stability in very uncertain situations. Assistance not only save lives, but also prevents greater costs in the future."

UNHCR estimates that this year's total funding will only amount to a budget one decade ago, although the number of refugees has doubled to more than 122 million people.

"Despite the painful cuts and the loss of many dedicated co-workers, our commitment to the refugees remains immovable," said Gandi, asserting.