Geneva, December 15 (QNA) - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Sunday strongly criticized this year's cuts to humanitarian aid, describing them as "irresponsible" at a time when refugees are increasingly marginalized and exploited.

Speaking at the opening of a follow-up meeting of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Grandi said the humanitarian system was facing "a real storm." He referred to the "endless atrocities" unfolding in Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, and Myanmar, while condemning what he described as the "sudden, irresponsible, and short-sighted collapse" of international assistance.

Grandi noted that funding for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has declined by 35 percent since the start of the year, warning that the shortfall is "devastating the humanitarian sector and causing widespread, unnecessary suffering."

As his ten-year term draws to a close at the end of the year, Grandi said that 2025 had been marked by growing hostility toward refugees, who were "often vilified and used as scapegoats in many parts of the world."

The meeting comes as donors are expected to announce new pledges, amid a deepening financial crisis facing UNHCR. The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide reached an estimated 117.3 million by mid-2025, doubling over the past decade.

Grandi said that funding cuts by Washington, previously the source of around 40 percent of UNHCR's budget, along with financial constraints imposed by other donor countries, have forced the agency to eliminate more than a quarter of its positions this year and part ways with approximately 5,000 staff and partners.

The Geneva talks follow shortly after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed former Iraqi president Barham Salih as the next head of UNHCR, a decision that remains subject to approval by the United Nations General Assembly. (QNA)