Migration opportunities into Europe should “open up” so people can legally move to countries like Ireland for work rather than “obstructing asylum channels”, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees has warned.
The lack of “broad and well-regulated” migration channels for people seeking work and a better life in Europe is “taking away the credibility and capacity” of asylum channels needed for people who are legitimately fleeing violence and human rights abuses, Filippo Grandi said on Wednesday during a visit to Dublin.
The high commissioner acknowledged Ireland had dealt with a recent influx of international protection applicants, using “tools designed for much smaller arrivals”, but said standards for supporting asylum seekers “have to be maintained”.
Speaking at the Institute of International and European Affairs, Mr Grandi warned that Europe’s focus on increasing security and defence spending, while simultaneously cutting foreign aid assistance, was “myopic, short-sighted” and a “strategic mistake”.
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“Defunding and decreasing aid is not only morally wrong but also strategically very risky,” he said, expressing particular concern for the African countries neighbouring Sudan who are dealing with huge population movement.
Europeans should also be concerned about aid cuts in the “belt of crisis” surrounding this continent, he said.
“We already estimate 350,000 Sudanese have moved to Libya, so what will that mean for Europe? It’s not that aid automatically stops people moving but it has a stabilising function.
“Europe should see this as investment in its security. There are areas that Europe should be mindful, if not properly resourced, may turn into liabilities for the European continent. Making those crises worse can only weaken your own security.”
The decision by some European countries to slash their aid budgets and increase defence spending – following a trend set by US president Donald Trump, who has frozen nearly all US foreign aid assistance – is having a “devastating” impact on the food security, health and education of millions of people, he said.
In 2024, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) received more than $2 billion in donations from the US, making up 40 per cent of its total donations. US donations to the agency, led by Mr Grandi, have now dropped to “almost zero”. UNHCR has now cut nearly a third of its personnel and activities worldwide, said Mr Grandi.
In 2024, the agency distributed $700 million in cash support globally. This is forecast to drop by more than half by the end of 2025, he added. Vital education and gender-based violence programmes, which are not deemed “life-saving”, have been cut as a result.
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“I consider education life-saving but one has to be realistic,” said Mr Grandi. “We simply do not have enough money and we have to keep people alive. Foreign assistance is very small compared to defence spending so is it really strategic to cut this spending? Is it really necessary?”
Mr Grandi commended Ireland for being “one of the few remaining champions of the UN “rule based system” in a world where international diplomacy is increasingly “under attack”.
His comments followed a commitment by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Wednesday that Ireland would continue to financially support UNHCR’s work.
The high commissioner said people were losing trust in the UN’s system of multilateralism – where countries work together to solve global conflicts and challenges through co-operation.
This “explicit loss of trust” is resulting in “disengagement from international debate and co-operation”, particularly around trade, climate and forced displacement or migration of refugees, he said.
Asked to comment on the ongoing blockade of UNRWA-led aid into the Gaza Strip, Mr Grandi said humanitarian support must reach Palestinians in a “legitimate manner” and not in a way that is “manipulated by other interests, military interests”.
The “unprecedented, provoked” displacement of Palestinians continues to be a “major violation of international humanitarian law”, said Mr Grandi, who is also the former commissioner general for UNWRA.
“On Gaza, what is there left to say. When we say what’s happening there is unspeakable I’m tempted to stop. Because if it is unspeakable, you can’t even speak about it any more.”
