STATEMENT: Danish Refugee Council to cut more than 650 additional positions, close six country operations in one of the most significant restructurings in its nearly 70-year history

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

• This restructuring comes on top of over 1,300 staff positions already cut since February as a direct consequence of the U.S. funding cuts.
• Changes ensure DRC’s financial sustainability and guarantee its ability to continue supporting those forcibly displaced

Statement by Danish Refugee Council Secretary General Charlotte Slente 

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) today announced the strategic restructuring of its global operations following the sudden end of U.S. funding, which accounted for 20 per cent of DRC’s budget. The restructuring comes at a moment when the entire humanitarian sector is facing profound challenges as funding shrinks and needs multiply.  

Losing our second-largest funding partner will mean a reduced global footprint; most of all, it is a blow to millions of people displaced by conflict, disaster and climate change. The U.S. retreat from emergency humanitarian assistance and long-term development programs that empower people to become self-sufficient and return to their homes safely will lead to untold suffering and deaths. The scale of the current funding crisis demands that DRC adapt, renew itself, and prepare for a world where U.S. assistance will not resume. Make no mistake: DRC will continue to promote protection and provide shelter, water, and food to displaced families when they are at their most vulnerable. 

Sadly, close to 1.5 million people affected by displacement will no longer be reached due to the DRC’s funding cuts and restructuring - including half a million directly affected - as we close our operations in six countries: Burundi, Central African Republic, Georgia, Kosovo, Mexico, and Tanzania – leaving DRC operational in 28 countries. The organization’s regional offices will 1be fully integrated with its headquarters as HQ-led hubs, bringing country operations and headquarters closer together. There will be headquarters-led hubs in Amman, Nairobi, and Dakar.  

On top of the over 1,300 staff positions already cut since February across the organization, we are discontinuing over 650 staff positions, including almost 100 in our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as in our offices in Berlin, Brussels, and Geneva. After the restructuring, DRC’s global staff will number around 5,600, down from approximately 7,500 before the funding cuts. DRC is committed to supporting affected staff through this transition. 

These are gut-wrenching decisions. But we take solace and strength in more than 100 donors, including institutional donors, foundations, and UN agencies, that continue to stand with us. They represent most of DRC’s funding – some 80 per cent – allowing us to reach people in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, and other major crises around the world. Our core mission – to assist refugees and the displaced, protect their rights and empower them towards a better future delivered through emergency response and solutions to displacement – remains unchanged. We firmly believe that the changes we are announcing today to simplify our structure and sharpen our focus will enable DRC to remain effective, efficient, and ensure that resources are directed where they are most needed: to the frontlines of the world’s displacement emergencies and the people we serve. 

As DRC approaches its 70th anniversary, it remains a trusted partner for donors, a valued member of the humanitarian community, and ready to evolve as circumstances require. We hold strong to the mission that guides our actions: To protect and empower people forced to flee their homes and ensure that they can lead dignified lives and take care of loved ones.