Productive conversation with UNHCR Commissioner Barham Salih (@BarhamSalih) about refugee issues in Sudan, the DRC, and Western Sahara. In Sudan, we agreed on the vital need for an immediate humanitarian truce that allows unhindered humanitarian access. On DRC, we discussed the importance of sustaining the momentum toward lasting peace under the Washington Accords and Doha Framework. On Western Sahara, we discussed the path toward a durable resolution consistent with UNSCR 2797 and the importance of addressing the long-term needs of Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps, alongside efforts to advance regional stability and prosperity.

Good discussion with UNHCR Commissioner Barham Salih (@BarhamSalih) about people displaced by conflict and our efforts to resolve these conflicts. On Sudan, we discussed the massive internal and external displacement and the vital importance of an expanded arms embargo covering the whole country to help alleviate the suffering and death of the Sudanese people. On the eastern DRC, we discussed ongoing negotiations and U.S.-led efforts to facilitate peace and the response to the Ebola crisis. As to Western Sahara, we discussed continued efforts toward a durable, mutually acceptable resolution consistent with UNSCR 2797, which could promote regional stability and shared prosperity, and the importance of lasting solutions for Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps.

Today we spotlight the #PEACEFORALL# project with #UNHCR# — empowering women in Bangladesh through training, dignified work, and community-led production. Tune in next for our other projects with Save the Children and Plan International.

Who actually took in the refugees? 🌍 (UNHCR, end of 2024) The rich Gulf states: 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: 448 🇶🇦 Qatar: 197 🇦🇪 UAE: 1,377 🇰🇼 Kuwait: 488 Not thousands. Hundreds. In 2014–2015, the six Gulf states offered ZERO resettlement places for Syrian refugees (Amnesty). The West: 🇩🇪 Germany: 2.75M 🇫🇷 France: 722K 🇬🇧 UK: 516K 🇺🇸 USA: 435K refugees + 3.2M asylum seekers And the demographic shift is real. Pew Research: Muslims in Europe went from 3.8% (2010) to 4.9% (2016). By 2050: 7.4% with ZERO migration, up to 14% with high migration. 🇸🇪 Sweden could reach 30%. Why? Migration, plus a much younger population (median age 30 vs 44) and higher birth rates (2.6 vs 1.6). The wealthiest Muslim countries closed their doors. The West opened its doors, and is now changing permanently. This isn't hate. It's numbers. Europe deserves an honest debate about its future.

This week we're in NYC for UNGA to announce new CDFI grants, a renewed UNHCR commitment from Circle Foundation, and conversations on expanding financial access across Africa. Across different rooms, partners, and conversations the through line is the same: value should move as easily as information does.

Thank you for your leadership, @michaelgwaltz. For the first time in decades, the United States has decided to move away from a MINURSO mission that has failed to resolve the Western Sahara conflict and instead helped perpetuate the very stalemate it was created to end: "“Unfortunately, Russia vetoed what 11 other members of this Council supported — taking historic steps toward finally ending a 50-year conflict in the Western Sahara. We presented a path to finally stem the real, devastating human cost of this conflict by extending the UN mission in Western Sahara for 12 months, supported the Personal Envoy and the political process, and called on UNHCR to register the refugees in the Tindouf camps who have been waiting 50 years for a durable solution. “Russia’s veto means the mission’s mandate will now expire on October 31. The Council chose not to take a step back from the historic progress of Resolution 2797 by not supporting Russia’s alternative text. This was all Russia’s choice. “President Trump refuses to accept that this conflict is simply too difficult to solve—and under his leadership, we acted. Our resolution would have taken the next steps on that road to freedom and peace. We will not lend our vote to business as usual in the face of terrible conditions that the UN’s own High Commissioner for Refugees has called ‘untenable, unsustainable, and genuinely, truly inhumane.’ “We are prepared to work with the Secretary-General on an orderly drawdown that protects UN personnel and addresses legitimate security and humanitarian needs. And we will continue working with Personal Envoy de Mistura and each of the concerned parties to negotiate a lasting peace. Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States has done more for peace in Western Sahara this year than in decades. We will not stop now.”"

🇸🇩 | Sudanese refugees in Kufra, in Libya’s southeastern desert, are living in shelters made of blankets and scraps of fabric. People in the camp say the ground is constantly wet, and their bedding cannot dry unless the sun comes out. Water has to be carried from far away. “This is the life we are living,” said Hajar, a refugee in the camp. An estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Sudanese live in and around Kufra. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), more than 567,000 Sudanese have arrived in Libya since April 2023. The agency says refugees in Kufra still urgently need food, healthcare and shelter, and many lack the documents or money to see a doctor. A crackdown on migrants has also left many fearing arrest and deportation. The war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023. Two years earlier, the two forces had jointly seized power in a coup that ended the transition to civilian rule after the 2019 uprising that toppled Omar al-Bashir. The fighting has been fueled in part by Sudan’s gold. UN experts have linked RSF gold sales to networks in the United Arab Emirates. Repeated ceasefire efforts have failed. Refugees in Kufra say they hope to return home, to El Fasher, Nyala and the rest of Sudan.