Status: 08.01.2023 2:47 p.m
Germany supported the work of the UNHCR in 2022 with 507 million euros – making it the second largest donor after the USA. The aid organization praised Germany as an “important country for refugee protection”.
Germany made a record contribution to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) last year. In 2022, Germany provided more than 537 million US dollars (507 million euros), making its largest financial contribution to date to the global work of the aid agency, UNHCR Germany announced in Berlin. Germany is again the second largest donor after the USA.
“Germany is an important country for refugee protection, a reliable humanitarian donor in acute emergencies and protracted crises, and a major host country for refugees,” said UNHCR representative in Germany Katharina Lumpp.
Lumpp explained that the war against the Ukraine had led to the largest refugee movement in the world; its scale and speed are unprecedented since World War II. “More than 7.9 million people have fled the country and another 5.9 million are displaced within Ukraine. Solidarity in supporting refugees and internally displaced people is strong and continues unabated,” she said. The war in Ukraine is also having a serious impact on the situation of displaced persons in other regions and countries of the world.
UNHCR: Germany’s help also in demand in 2023
Also in 2023 Germany’s help is needed. Because armed conflicts and human rights violations would continue to force people to flee, said Lumpp, referring to the war against Ukraine and other regions and countries in the world that still required attention. “Conditions for these people around the world have deteriorated significantly as a result of the war in Ukraine,” said the UNHCR representative. The economic consequences of the war, which can be felt all over the world, have had a “particularly drastic” impact on people in humanitarian emergencies. Due to war-related flight and persecution, the UNHCR is in urgent need of more funds this year. Germany’s important contribution will also “save lives” in 2023, said Lumpp.
Against the background of the growing need, UNHCR had estimated a budget of 10.7 billion dollars last year, of which just under six billion (56 percent) was covered. A good three quarters of these came from governments, including the European Union. At 21 percent, the proportion of private donors was higher than ever, exceeding the billion mark for the first time at $1.17 billion.