Guterres says UNHCR and NGO partners must face challenges together

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Wednesday outlined major challenges facing his agency, including the shrinking humanitarian space, and said it was crucial to work closely with non-governmental organizations (NGO) to tackle these obstacles.

"It is indeed essential for UNHCR to keep a very close strategic relationship ... with civil society in general, and the NGO community in particular, because when one looks at the present trends in humanitarian action it is more and more clear that the challenges we face can only be overcome if we work together," Guterres told the annual UNHCR-NGO consultations in Geneva.