UN seeks to counter Western anti-refugee rhetoric at major forum

FILE PHOTO: A Sudanese woman, who fled the conflict in Murnei in Sudan's Darfur region, walks beside carts carrying her family belongings upon crossing the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre, Chad August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - Thousands of U.N. officials, politicians, aid and business groups meet in Geneva on Wednesday to seek solutions to a record displacement crisis as the U.N. refugee agency aims to counter a burgeoning Western narrative that casts refugees as a threat.

A record 114 million people around the world have been driven from their homes, including around 40 million refugees fleeing dozens of active conflicts including in Sudan and Ukraine. Yet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said many Western politicians were becoming less, not more welcoming, in the face of the huge challenge.