Former UNHCR official sparks debate with  ‘there is no such thing as a race’ comment 

A former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Head, Policy Development and Evaluation, Jeff Crisp, has stirred discussion on social media after declaring that there is “no such thing as a race.”

In a post shared on X, Crisp argued that all human beings belong to the same species and are capable of reproducing with one another, making the concept of separate races scientifically unfounded.

“For the record. There is no such thing as a ‘race’. We are all humans, able to procreate with each other. And consequently there is no such thing as a ‘mixed race person’. There are just people with a multitude of different skin colours and physical characteristics,” he wrote.

The post has generated widespread reactions, with users debating the distinction between the biological and social meanings of race.

Modern scientific research broadly supports the view that humans do not comprise separate biological races. Genetic studies have found that all living humans belong to a single species, Homo sapiens, and share more than 99.9 per cent of their DNA. The genetic differences that do exist are generally greater within populations than between them, leading many scientists to conclude that traditional racial categories lack a biological basis.

However, experts note that while race is not considered a valid biological classification, it remains a powerful social construct. Societies have historically used racial categories to classify people based on physical traits such as skin colour, facial features and hair texture, with these classifications often influencing access to opportunities, treatment under the law and lived experiences.

As a result, scholars distinguish between the scientific consensus that biological races do not exist in humans and the social reality that race continues to shape politics, economics and everyday life around the world.

Crisp’s comments have added to the longstanding global conversation on genetics, identity and the role of race in society.