In a phone call on Sunday, President Masoud Barzani congratulated former Iraqi President Barham Salih on his appointment as the next head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR). 

According to a post on X by the Kurdistan Democratic Party foreign relations office, “President Barzani expressed his pleasure at seeing a Kurdish figure assuming such an important role at the UN and wished Dr. Salih success and good fortune.”

Read More: UN Chief to Endorse Barham Salih as Next UNHCR Chief

In a letter that became public on Friday, it became clear that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would endorse Salih as the next head of the UNHCR.Alessandra Vellucci, chief spokesperson for the UN office in Geneva, told reporters on Friday that she was aware of reports about the question of the choice of the next UNHCR head by Secretary-General Guterres.

However, she said that candidates have to go through a “proper process, and this includes consultations with the executive committee of UNHCR, and then a decision is taken by the General Assembly.”