Category: English

Source: APO

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In this Jubilee Year 2025 – a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation that the Catholic Church celebrates every 25 years – and as we soon begin the African Union’s decade of reparations, we welcome the 7^th AU-EU summit as an opportunity to work together on the building blocks of an equitable partnership between the two regions.

Speaking from the direct experiences of our communities and people we serve, among them those experiencing poverty and hunger, farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples, women and youth, we take this occasion to advocate for a fair and responsible AU-EU partnership. We reaffirm our commitment to social, environmental and global justice, while denouncing false climate solutions, a development model based on extractivism and the commodification of nature.

We urge the leaders gathered in Luanda to place the dignity of our peoples at the heart of AU-EU relations. This requires decisive choices across various fields. We recognise the efforts of many EU initiatives to help advance human development. At the same time, however, as we witness that several of these initiatives seem to replicate extractive patterns of the past, we share our concerns regarding the EU’s increased focus on its geopolitical and economic interests, at the expense of justice and solidarity with African people, of their needs and of their aspirations. Taking this path would not lead to a true partnership, one that seeks to address existing imbalances and is oriented towards genuine mutual benefit.

In this statement, we therefore particularly wish to address some key challenges we see in the areas of energy and climate partnerships, Global Gateway, food systems and debt, and to offer perspectives on how joint action on these areas may better serve the objective of integral human development. 

From extractivist energy deals to fair partnerships and democratic energy systems

The race for critical raw materials (CRM) is devastating territories, sacrificing communities, and it risks reinforcing historical patterns of extractivism. It is taking place within systems that put profit above people and that treat land, water, and minerals – the foundations of life on Earth – as commodities for foreign profit rather than as common goods to be stewarded with care and for the benefit of all.

In this context, African countries are seeking to break with historic patterns of extraction and commodity dependence, to keep more of the processing of their own resources on their soil and to unlock more domestic value addition. This requires a different industrial partnership between European and African countries, in which Europe does not turn to an overly protectionist “Europe first” approach. Such an approach would undermine the potential of strengthening ties between both regions, weaken the EU’s trade relations at a critical juncture, go against Africa’s local beneficiation objectives and the realisation of her true potential, and erode global climate and environmental goals. European policymakers must recognise that the EU’s own supply chain security agenda cannot be achieved through domestic processing alone, and that true partnership with African countries can only be built if it is aligned with Africa’s value addition ambitions.

In general, the EU’s cooperation with African countries on critical raw materials (CRM) is taking place under non-binding frameworks, such as the Global Gateway investment package, Strategic Partnerships under the Critical Raw Materials Act, and Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships. It is also influenced by the EU’s Free Trade Agreements, which include legally binding provisions that often leave little room for partner countries to maintain control over their mineral resources. To be better partners, the EU and European governments must translate the EU’s declared support for local value addition in African countries into tangible action. This includes agreeing on a clear common definition of “value addition”, establishing specific and binding technical and financial assistance commitments on the sharing of knowledge, technology and skills, and using robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

For Europe-Africa partnerships to foster equitable, responsible and sustainable mineral resource management, it is also essential to reconsider the overall model of energy production, and to ensure that benefits associated with renewable energy and mineral production, such as revenue and jobs, are felt by local communities and producer countries.

Renewable energy megaprojects, often imposed without properly consulting local populations, concentrate economic power, lack transparency and destroy ecosystems. Instead, bi-regional relations should promote democratic, decentralised renewable energy systems, with community management and rooted in local territories. The AU-EU partnership can do so by (1) strengthening public involvement in funding, ownership and control of renewable energy projects, (2) focusing on small-scale projects that target those furthest behind, (3) supporting the cooperative and social economy (such as renewable energy communities), (4) upholding Indigenous Peoples’ rights and knowledge, (5) enhancing monitoring and enforcement capabilities regarding social and environmental standards, and (6) designing projects for domestic and regional markets, not solely for export.

From industrial food production to agroecology

Hunger is not a production problem, it is a justice issue, related to the sharing of resources and financial access. Hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity persist in Africa today largely due to the logic and priorities of a development model that is designed to maximise economic growth. Industrial agriculture, marked by monoculture, large-scale production and the use of advanced technologies, chemical inputs, genetically modified or hybrid seeds and synthetic fertilisers, focuses on increasing food production to maximise economic returns, favouring profit accumulation by big agribusiness. ​It contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, water and air pollution, biodiversity loss and soil degradation. It shifts away from traditional, diversified diets and impacts on human health. It enables the concentration and abuse of power by large-scale agribusiness and sidelines smallholder farmers from decision-making. It disregards ancestral and embodied knowledge and diverse local experiences, worldviews and traditions, and undermines the food and seed sovereignty and self-determination of local communities.

The AU-EU partnership must support a transformation of agriculture that breaks free from this exploitative and extractive way of farming and from the dependency on imported fertilisers, chemical inputs, and genetically modified seeds. This includes promoting agroecology – a tested and proven model for climate resilience among rural communities – which the EU could help to do by establishing clear, binding EU guidelines and directing financing channels towards support for agroecology.

It also includes protecting and promoting farmer-managed seed systems that enable the preservation of traditional crop species, the development of local varieties adapted to farmers’ specific needs, the self-sufficiency of farmers and environmental stewardship. These systems are rooted in knowledge, values and wisdom built up over thousands of years and provide a strong basis for people to respond to their own needs for healthy, culturally-adapted foods. Criminalising farmers for saving and exchanging seeds or imposing rigid intellectual property regimes or corporate agendas violates both their rights and the planet’s needs.

This transformation further requires policy coherence and an end to double standards. Pesticides that are prohibited to be used in European agriculture because of the harm they cause to people’s health or the environment should no longer be produced for export to outside the EU, including Africa.

We urge leaders gathered in Luanda to shift the focus from production, efficiency and profit, and to work together on an agricultural model organised to address matters of justice, foster equitable resource distribution and protect our ecosystems.

From excessive consumption to joyful sobriety

Switching to renewable sources of energy, increasing energy efficiency and investing in agroecology have an important role to play, but this is not enough. Alignment with planetary boundaries requires ambitious energy sufficiency policies.

Recent EU energy and climate partnerships with African countries have been designed based on minerals demand predictions that assume a significant increase in energy consumption in Europe. They lack serious efforts to address excessive consumption in Europe, which would be essential to reduce the social and environmental pressure on resource-rich countries and to care for our common home. Europeans must recognise that, past a certain level, greater material consumption is not linked with an improvement in wellbeing, and that they can no longer sustain an economic model that exploits people and resources without limit. The AU-EU partnership must be based on the recognition of the ecological limits of the planet and place care for life in all its forms at its centre.

We urge European leaders to recognise their historical responsibility for the transgression of planetary boundaries and to adopt policies aimed at demand production and consumption reduction, which would lower the EU’s over-reliance on imported energy more rapidly – increasing its resilience to potential shocks – and prevent further social and environmental impacts on African territories. This includes scaling down ecologically destructive industries in Europe and establishing binding EU material footprint reduction targets. These are necessary, concrete steps to guarantee what is necessary for a dignified life for Europeans, for Africans, for all.

From debt trap to debt justice

The current debt crisis is the worst in history, affecting over 40 African countries. Many are spending more than 20% or even 30% of government income on foreign debt service, facing the impossible choice between paying interest on unsustainable debts and investing on education, health and climate action. This also pushes export-oriented African countries to intensify extraction and the export of natural resources to fulfil debt repayment obligations (in USD), instead of organising their economy based on domestic consumption needs, democratic decision-making, self-determination and care for the environment.

The present crisis did not arise by coincidence or solely from domestic factors. Many countries in Africa inherited debt accumulated by their colonial authorities, and many former colonies were forced to pay compensation to former European rulers for the loss of income resulting from the liberation of enslaved people. In the absence of an international democratic governance of debt, the process of taking on new loans or renegotiating existing debts has happened on highly unfavourable terms for African countries, with creditors holding too much power, and negotiations being carried out without transparency, standard rules or sufficient civil society involvement. Excessive borrowing costs have been heavily influenced by the credit industry, dominated by powerful Western credit rating agencies. The G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments has failed to deliver the expected results, being slow, creditor-driven and not fit for purpose.

In the face of this model that concentrates income and increases poverty, we urge African leaders to no longer accept debt that is one sided and debt workout mechanisms that are not meant to free African societies. We urge European governments to recognise that much of the debt that has been accumulated is illegitimate, unjust and unsustainable.

Europe has a responsibility to support Debt Relief Initiatives. We urge the leaders at the summit to take seriously the calls for urgent debt restructuring as well as debt cancellation, to be implemented without economic policy conditions. The success of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative showed that debt can indeed be cancelled, and debt cancellation must not be a means to encroach on the economic sovereignty of countries overburdened by unfair and unsustainable debt conditions. Further, leaders should support the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency to overcome the current oligopoly of credit rating agencies and support reforms of international financial market and banking regulation that disadvantage the countries of the global south.

We also echo major recent reports on debt – Jubilee Debt Report (http://apo-opa.co/4oX5QRA), the Cape Town Declaration (http://apo-opa.co/3JMFnHB) of the African Leaders Debt Relief Initiative, the Lomé Declaration (http://apo-opa.co/43mWeY5) of the AU – which bring an unequivocal call for systemic reforms of the international finance architecture. In this Jubilee Year, it is our hope that European leaders will follow up on the outcome of the 4^th Financing for Development Conference (http://apo-opa.co/3LBZ3yk) and support the AU’s call for the establishment of a debt resolution mechanism at the UN level. Such a mechanism would provide a space for democratic deliberation about the rules governing borrowing and lending and to compel all creditors (public, multilateral, and private) to come together and accept binding conditions that favor sustainable development.

Ending the debt trap is not about generosity, it is about justice and true partnership, and about making a strategic choice to invest in global stability.

From EU-centric investment strategies to people-centered development

Breaking with historical patterns of extraction and unsustainable debt also requires revising the Global Gateway model. The Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package, though in principle, was designed to strengthen partnership with Africa and accelerate her Agenda 2063, has remained largely EU-driven, with priorities designed in Brussels and projects reflecting Europe’s strategic interests in securing critical raw materials, energy imports, and migration control, rather than Africa’s developmental agenda.

The Global Gateway was designed to help “create market opportunities” for European businesses, provides funding mainly through loans, and lacks robust mechanisms for transparency and civil society engagement and for publicly accountable control of critical infrastructure. Such a model contradicts the EU’s “development cooperation” primary purpose of eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities and is at odds with EU Treaties and the EU’s external budget Regulation. It risks diverting scarce public resources from poverty and inequalities reduction in places and countries that need them the most and in sectors such as health, education and social protection.

What we need instead is a model rooted in sovereignty, self-sufficiency, transparency and local leadership and value addition. In practice, this means public-public partnership projects, grants-based finance, prioritisation of local companies, a legally-binding human rights and environmental framework, and an active role for local civil society in the selection, design, and implementation of all projects.

In view of a partnership that brings justice for the African people

The 7^th AU-EU summit, taking place in the AU’s Year of Reparations, must offer reparations for historical injustices and exploitation inflicted on the African continent. Europeans must acknowledge the root causes of present issues, and that the legacy of colonialism and slavery continues to shape struggles of extractive economies and debt crises. Concrete steps from the EU’s side regarding local value-addition, democratic energy systems, promoting agroecological principles and practices, as well as debt resolution, are all key to address the root causes of poverty and inequality in Africa – neither aid, nor investments with suffice – and they are all part of a process of addressing historical injustices. This is how European leaders can pave the way for a forward-looking relationship with African countries. This is how the AU-EU partnership can be at the service of life.

Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) 

Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM)

Caritas Africa

Caritas Middle East and North Africa

Caritas Europa

CIDSE (Coopération internationale pour le développement et la solidarité)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

Source: APO

The Dakar en Jeux festival brought together thousands of people across the Dakar 2026 (https://apo-opa.co/3JNIoqY) host sites to celebrate youth, sport and culture, rounding off a week of activities marking one year to go to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Since its launch in 2022, Dakar en Jeux has become a flagship initiative of the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee, providing a platform for young people to discover new sports, celebrate local culture and learn about the Olympic values.

International futsal tournament at Dakar Arena

A highlight of the week was the international futsal tournament at Dakar Arena in Diamniadio. Eight under-17 men’s and women’s teams from Africa, Europe and South America competed, including Senegal, Morocco, Portugal and Brazil in the men’s event and Senegal, Namibia and Guinea in the women’s.

Promoting sport and health

From 6 to 9 November, the Play Programme invited 1,700 children to try a range of sports, including basketball, futsal, judo, boxing, fencing, badminton and athletics. Each session concluded with workshops on fair play and ethics awareness, reinforcing the importance of integrity in sport.

Following its successful 2024 debut, Impact Spark returned to the three host sites, combining physical activity with workshops on health and well-being. Delivered in partnership with the Lausanne-based SPARK/innov-action association, the initiative encouraged 900 young people aged 14 to 18 to adopt healthy lifestyles through sport and movement.

Celebrating local culture

Throughout the week, Dakar en Jeux celebrated Senegalese culture through music, dance and the arts. Free concerts were held at Dakar train station, while the Grand Concert de Saly brought together leading Senegalese performers alongside emerging local artists for an open-air concert on Saly Beach West.

Traditional performances, fashion shows and youth theatre all contributed to the festival atmosphere across the host sites, showcasing the diversity and creativity of Senegal’s cultural scene.

Education was also a central theme of the festival. At Dakar Arena, children who had completed the Olympic Civic and Sports Certificate (Brevet Olympique Civique et Sportif) took part in the “Young Geniuses” and “Spelling Bee” contests, testing their knowledge of the Olympic values.

Marking one year to go

Earlier in the week, a special ceremony at the Grand Théâtre in Dakar saw the unveiling of Ayo as the official mascot of Dakar 2026 (https://apo-opa.co/4nMF8Kw). The young lion, whose name means “joy” in Yoruba, reflects the optimism and dynamism of African youth. The unveiling was attended by the President of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, together with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry, IOC Coordination Commission Chair Humphrey Kayange and Mamadou D. Ndiaye, President of Dakar 2026 and the Senegalese National Olympic and Sports Committee.

On the same day, Worldwide Olympic Partner OMEGA unveiled the official countdown clock (https://apo-opa.co/3XnaRXS) at Dakar train station, marking the start of the final year of preparations for the Games.

The Dakar 2026 YOG will take place from 31 October to 13 November 2026, bringing together 2,700 of the world’s best young athletes up to the age of 17. The Games will be held across three host sites in Senegal: Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Source: APO – Report:

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H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat participated in the ministerial opening session of the Egypt-GCC Trade and Investment Forum, which focused on “Prospects for Trade and Investment Relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and GCC Countries.” The session aimed to review the investment environment in Egypt and the GCC, highlight key developments and supportive legislation, strengthen strategic partnerships between public and private sector representatives, discuss challenges to investment flows, and outline the future of investment cooperation in line with Egypt’s and the GCC countries’ long-term visions.

The session was attended by Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Mr. Mohamed Gabr, Minister of Labor; Mr. Mohamed Abdelrahman Al-Hawi, Undersecretary, UAE Ministry of Investment; Mr. Abdullah bin Ali Al-Dubaikhi, Assistant Minister of Investment, Saudi Arabia; Ms. Ibtisam bint Ahmed Al-Farouji, Undersecretary, Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion, Oman; Mr. Mohamed Hassan Al-Malaki, Undersecretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar; and was chaired by Dr. Alaa Ezz, Secretary-General, African and European Chambers of Commerce.

In her speech, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat expressed her pleasure in participating in this important forum, highlighting the depth of historical ties and brotherly relations between Egypt and GCC countries, which are based on mutual trust, shared vision, and complementary interests. She emphasized that Egypt and the Gulf countries have promising and complementary capabilities to enhance regional economic security and that Gulf investments remain the largest in Egypt, with opportunities across multiple sectors supported by economic reform policies.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat noted that the forum comes at a critical time amid rapid regional and global economic and geopolitical changes, requiring deeper strategic partnerships to enhance economic integration and develop shared value chains. She emphasized that Egypt-GCC cooperation establishes strong links across Asian and African markets while strengthening regional value chains.

The minister highlighted that Egypt and GCC countries have complementary economic and investment strengths that enable the creation of sustainable partnerships. GCC countries remain Egypt’s leading regional investment partner and one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment in energy, real estate, financial services, tourism, and agriculture.

She added that this long-standing successful partnership can be deepened to align with shared priorities and emerging global and regional developments, particularly following Egypt’s structural, economic, and financial reforms. She emphasized that Egypt adopts an approach that empowers the private sector while redefining the state’s role in economic activity, and that the Egyptian economy continues to recover and grow despite regional and international challenges, with tourism, industry, and telecommunications leading future growth.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat reviewed Egypt’s positive economic indicators, which reflect robust performance and continuous recovery. She noted that Egypt’s GDP growth reached approximately 5% in Q4 FY 2024/2025, compared to 2.4% during the same period the previous year—the highest quarterly growth rate in three years. This contributed to an annual growth rate of around 4.4%, up from 2.4%, reflecting the resilience of Egypt’s economy in facing external shocks, supported by policies promoting macroeconomic stability, improved governance of public investment expenditure, and enhanced private sector participation through continued structural reform implementation.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat confirmed that the Egyptian economy has demonstrated resilience and recovery in response to successive external shocks, reflecting the success of government policies in enhancing macroeconomic stability, improving governance of public investment expenditure, and supporting the private sector, in line with the national structural reform program.

She highlighted that the structure and sources of growth demonstrate Egypt’s economic strengths, driven by key sectors including tourism, industry, and telecommunications/IT, which form essential pillars for future development.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat underlined that Egypt has adopted a new economic model through “Egypt’s Narrative for Economic Development: Reforms for Growth, Jobs & Resilience,” based on three pillars: ensuring macroeconomic stability as a prerequisite for sustainable growth, structural transformation toward tradable sectors including industry, tourism, agriculture, energy, and IT, and redefining the role of the state to empower and incentivize the private sector. The narrative provides a framework for the success of both domestic and foreign investments, particularly those from Gulf countries.

She also noted that the “Hafiz” platform provides an integrated digital bridge linking private sector institutions with development partners, offering financial, technical, advisory, and capacity-building services. This enhances the business environment and facilitates access to financing and initiatives locally and internationally. Since 2020, the private sector has received around USD 16 billion in concessional financing.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat concluded by expressing confidence that the forum represents a new step in strengthening Egypt-GCC partnerships, supporting an integrated and sustainable Arab economy based on innovation, investment, and capacity integration. She emphasized that the Egypt-GCC Forum marks the launch of efforts to activate institutional frameworks for cooperation between Egypt and the Gulf countries.

She also highlighted that experiences of cooperation with the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain represent a blend of shared expertise and integrated practices, which can be leveraged to implement economic initiatives quickly and strengthen partnerships. Egypt is working with its partners through joint committees to activate institutions effectively and translate ideas into practical steps that enhance economic and investment cooperation.

– on behalf of Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation – Egypt.

Source: APO

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UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and ITU, the UN agency for digital technologies, are expanding efforts with partners in Chad and other refugee-hosting countries to ensure that millions of forcibly displaced people and local communities are connected by 2030.

Wrapping up a two-day joint visit to Chad on Friday, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, President of the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation John Giusti and UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Kelly T. Clements saw first-hand how connectivity is transforming the lives of vulnerable communities. Across the country, Sudanese refugees and Chadians are using digital tools to access education, financial services and health care – taking steps toward greater stability and self-reliance.

While in Chad, the partners sought to cement the regulatory and infrastructure framework to expand the Connectivity for Refugees (CfR) initiative. Launched in 2023 during the Global Refugee Forum as a pledge to mobilize resources so all major refugee hosting areas have available and affordable connectivity by 2030, it has evolved into a private-public partnership active in countries including Chad, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mauritania, Egypt, and Rwanda. Each programme is tailored to local needs, mapping communities most in need to expand connectivity.

“In Chad, we witnessed first-hand how connectivity can restore dignity and hope for displaced people and host communities,” said ITU’s Bogdan-Martin. “The Connectivity for Refugees initiative opens doors to digital opportunity in places where connection to the Internet is a lifeline, not a luxury. Now more than ever, we must act and extend that lifeline so that no one is left behind.”

“Too many people view refugees as passive victims, but we saw in Chad their drive to connect, to learn and enhance their lives and future prospects,” said UNHCR’s Clements. “Our goal is ambitious – connecting 20 million forcibly displaced people and their hosts by 2030. We’ve shifted gears and are starting to deliver results which will help create resilient, inclusive communities. But we need to keep pushing.”

Chad is home to around 1.5 million refugees, mainly Sudanese. Its government is committed to digital inclusion through its development plan, Tchad Connexion 2030, which integrates refugee needs into the broader digital infrastructure. Local mobile operators Airtel Chad and Moov have made infrastructure upgrades to help connect the isolated east of the country. Emergency.LU, a public-private partnership funded by Luxembourg enabling high-performance satellite connectivity, is being deployed across several locations in Chad. Four connected centres are being established in Djabal, Farchana, Idrimi and Oure Cassoni settlements, serving as learning hubs for Sudanese refugees and host communities alike.

UNHCR is calling on partners across sectors to help scale up this work to meet the urgent needs of millions. This includes expanding infrastructure and lifting regulatory barriers to individual access for displaced people. To achieve this, Connectivity for Refugees is seeking at least $20 million in core support, with at least $200 million in direct investment and contributions. 

Driving global efforts to bridge the digital divide, ITU works with telecom regulators and industry leaders to develop innovative digital solutions for underserved regions. Its Partner2Connect Digital Coalition has mobilized commitments from over 70 governments, companies and other organizations to unlock connectivity solutions for refugees, while its Disaster Connectivity Map provides critical data to guide interventions in crisis-stricken regions like Chad.

The GSMA is a founding member of the Connectivity for Refugees Initiative, serving as a bridge between mobile network operators and humanitarian organizations. GSMA’s Giusti added: “Connectivity is often the first thing people ask for when crossing a border seeking safety. This unique partnership with UNHCR and ITU allows the GSMA to broker scalable and sustainable connectivity solutions to support forcibly displaced people and the communities that host them around the world.”

UNHCR is also deepening its engagement with development actors like the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC), seeking to allocate portions of large-scale digital infrastructure projects to refugee-hosting areas.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Source: APO

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At least 117 million people have been displaced by war, violence and persecution, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday, while highlighting how much their plight is tied to the growing climate crisis.

“Whether it is floods sweeping South Sudan and Brazil, record-breaking heat in Kenya and Pakistan, or water shortages in Chad and Ethiopia, extreme weather is pushing already fragile communities to the brink,” the UN agency said.

Over the past decade, weather-related disasters accounted for 250 million internal displacements, the equivalent of around 70,000 every day, or two displacements every three seconds. Returns to Syria and Afghanistan this year have contributed to lower global displacement than in 2024. 

Frontline struggle

In a new report, UNHCR also pointed out that three in four of all those who’ve been uprooted now live in countries where frontline communities face “high-to-extreme” exposure to climate-related hazards.

“Extreme weather is putting people’s safety at greater risk; it is disrupting access to essential services, destroying homes and livelihoods and forcing families – many who have already fled violence – to flee once more,” said Filippo Grandi, the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

“These are people who have already endured immense loss, and now they face the same hardships and devastation again. They are among the hardest hit by severe droughts, deadly floods and record-breaking heatwaves, yet they have the fewest resources to recover.”

Protection system strung out

Around the world, basic survival systems for refugees are already under strain, UNHCR warned.

In parts of flood-affected Chad, for instance, newly arrived refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Sudan receive fewer than 10 litres of water a day, which is far below emergency standards.

Evidence also indicates that by 2050, the hottest refugee camps could face nearly 200 days of extreme heat stress per year, with serious risks to health and survival.

“Many of these locations are likely to become uninhabitable due to the deadly combination of extreme heat and high humidity,” the UN refugee agency maintained.

African land degradation threat

It noted that 1.2 million refugees returned home in early 2025 but half of this number arrived in “climate-vulnerable” areas. Meanwhile, UNHCR also noted that a full 75 per cent of land across the continent of Africa is deteriorating and that more than one in two refugee settlements are located in “high stress” areas.

“This is shrinking access to food, water and income,” the UN agency insisted, driving recruitment to armed groups in parts of the Sahel, fuelling conflict and repeated displacement.

Despite rising needs, funding shortfalls and what UNHCR calls “a deeply inequitable climate finance system” have left millions unprotected. Today, conflict-affected countries that host refugees receive only one quarter of the climate finance they need, while the vast majority of global climate funding never reaches displaced communities or their hosts.

“Funding cuts are severely limiting our ability to protect refugees and displaced families from the effects of extreme weather,” Mr. Grandi said, speaking on the opening day of the UN COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil.

“If we want stability, we must invest where people are most at risk,” the UNHCR chief added. “To prevent further displacement, climate financing needs to reach the communities already living on the edge. They cannot be left alone. This COP must deliver real action, not empty promises.”

Key UNHCR report findings:

•    Three in every four refugees or people displaced by conflict are currently living in countries facing high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards.
•    1.2 million refugees returned home in early 2025, half to climate-vulnerable areas.
•    75 per cent of land in Africa is deteriorating, with over half of refugee settlements in high-stress areas.
•    Nearly all current refugee settlements will face an unprecedented rise in hazardous heat. By 2050, the hottest fifteen refugee camps in the world – located in Gambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Mali – are projected to face nearly 200 days or more of hazardous heat stress per year.
•    By 2040, the number of countries facing extreme climate hazards could rise from three to 65.
•    Since April 2023, nearly 1.3 million people fleeing the conflict in Sudan have sought refuge in South Sudan and Chad, two countries among the least equipped to cope with the growing climate emergency.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

Source: APO

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The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Seychelles participated in the United Nations Day celebrations held on 24 October 2025 at the Anse Royale Campus of the University of Seychelles.

The event, organized by the University of Seychelles, featured a range of cultural performances as well as stalls offering traditional cuisine and beverages from various countries. At the invitation of the University, the Sri Lankan community also took part in the programme.

A traditional Sri Lankan Kandyan dance performance served as one of the highlights of the celebration, drawing notable admiration from attendees. Additionally, a Sri Lankan culinary stall showcased an assortment of traditional dishes, including milk rice and a selection of sweet meats, which were warmly received and enjoyed by many participants. These contributions enriched the cultural diversity of the event and highlighted Sri Lanka’s vibrant heritage.

The High Commission extends its sincere appreciation to the University of Seychelles for the opportunity to contribute to this meaningful celebration of cultural diversity and multilateral cooperation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment & Tourism – Sri Lanka.