The United Nations Volunteers' (UNV) statement was included in the general debate of the 77th Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme in Geneva held from 12 to 16 October 2026.
Chairperson,
High Commissioner,
Distinguished Delegates.
I am honoured to address the Executive Committee on behalf of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV). Established by the General Assembly in 1970, UNV contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. As a system-wide service entity, UNV deploys UN Volunteers across the United Nations system, including in support of refugees and the communities that host them.
For 75 years, UNHCR has stood with those forced to flee. For nearly 50 of those years, UN Volunteers have stood alongside UNHCR. Through this longstanding and strategic partnership, UN Volunteers support UNHCR’s mandate to protect refugees, deliver humanitarian assistance, and pursue durable solutions. Over the past decade, some 4,000 UN Volunteers have served with UNHCR in refugee protection and humanitarian action. In 2025 alone, more than 750 UN Volunteers served with UNHCR in 69 countries, many of them affected by war and conflict.
Their contribution is concrete. In Brazil, UN Volunteers have assisted Venezuelan refugees in Boa Vista and across the Amazon region, and supported the response to the Rio Grande do Sul floods, which affected 2.4 million people in a state hosting some 43,000 refugees and other people in need of international protection. In eastern Chad, they have supported Sudanese refugees through biometric pre-registration, urgent healthcare and relocation from border areas such as Tiné to refugee camps. In Rwanda, they have served as interpreters in the Kiziba and Mahama camps, supporting protection, registration, and resettlement processes.
Chairperson,
Refugees are not merely passive beneficiaries of assistance; they can also be active agents of positive change in their own and host communities.
In line with the Global Compact on Refugees, UNV and UNHCR launched the Refugee UN Volunteers initiative in 2018 to engage refugees as UN Volunteers with UNHCR and other UN entities. Refugee UN Volunteers contribute to the work of their host entities while bringing positive change to their own communities. To date, more than 200 refugees have served as UN Volunteers.
In Jordan, 33 refugees served as UN Volunteers in the Za’atari and Azraq camps. As electrical and site assistants, photographers, interpreters and playground assistants, they strengthened camp services for thousands of refugees. In Romania, refugees from Ukraine contribute to community mobilization, information management and protection. Refugee UN Volunteers also serve in Kenya, Sudan, Mexico, Czechia, Cameroon and Egypt, strengthening community engagement and inclusion. Each of them demonstrates that refugees are not passive beneficiaries of aid but agents of change in their communities.
UNV and UNHCR remain committed to engaging refugees as UN Volunteers across the United Nations system, as pledged at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum.
Volunteerism strengthens trust, solidarity and social cohesion between refugees and host communities, and creates opportunities for meaningful participation. UNV reaffirms its steadfast support to UNHCR and to its 50 by 35 vision, to help more than half of refugees in protracted displacement move beyond aid by 2035.
Service as a UN Volunteer builds skills, experience and networks that support self-reliance. Through the power of volunteerism, we will continue to work so that no refugee is left behind.
Chairperson,
Finally, the General Assembly, in resolution 78/127, proclaimed 2026 the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. UNV takes this opportunity to express its sincere appreciation to volunteers worldwide, including refugees, stateless persons and members of host communities, whose dedication and service contribute to refugee protection, emergency response, and the pursuit of durable solutions.
Thank you.