| France Making a difference, together.

France is a reliable donor and partner to UNHCR, providing predictable support with a particular focus on Africa and the Middle East as well as emergencies.

One of UNHCR’s top 10 largest donors, France is a reliable donor and partner to UNHCR, providing predictable and flexible contributions.

In 2021, almost half of the annual contribution from France was unearmarked, giving UNHCR critical flexibility to address emerging crises or underfunded situations. Earmarked funding focused largely on Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, including critically underfunded situations such as Iraq, Syria and the DRC.

In 2021, France mobilized significant emergency funding to respond to the Afghanistan situation, to address the humanitarian needs of people forcibly displaced inside the country and in neighboring countries. For the first time in 2021, the French contribution reached USD 100 million, making France one of UNHCR’s largest donors. 

As a resettlement country, France welcomes around 5,000 refugees each year, providing people with an opportunity to start a new life. France has also shown commitment to UNHCR through regular funding of the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) program, offering young French professionals the opportunity to work for UNHCR at Headquarters and in the field.

France is committed to the principles of the Grand Bargain and has a proactive approach towards the implementation of the humanitarian-development nexus.

France also supports new models of refugee assistance and innovative approaches in a bid to increase the resilience and economic independence of refugees. Gender equality, education, as well as energy and infrastructure are important priorities that France supports, including through the French Development Agency.

The French government played an active role in the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in December 2019, when France specifically championed the issue of clean and renewable energy in refugee settlements and during the High-Level Officials Meeting in December 2021.

France is holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU during the first semester of 2022 and is organizing together with the European Commission the first European Humanitarian Summit in Brussels in March 2022.