Since its founding in 1950, the UN Refugee Agency has largely been managed by Europeans. Matthew Crentsil, a Ghanaian national who runs the agency’s operation in Uganda, thinks it's time to look beyond.
Centril, the only African candidate in the race to lead the United Nations’ premier refugee agency, said it may have made sense to rely on European leadership in an era when UNHCR was focused on resettling European refugees displaced by World War II. But it is now responding to the needs of nearly 40 million refugees spread across the globe, most of them beyond Europe’s borders.
“It was logical then for it to be led by Europeans,” he told Devex. “But what do we see now? After 75 years, the context has completely changed. I mean, the burden is more on the global south,” he said. “So leadership should also reflect this change in dynamic, in context.”
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
