Refugees in Syria and Iraq at risk because UN aid agencies are broke
Beirut (AsiaNews) – The response of the international community to the needs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and other countries remains weak and “does not meet the needs,” said UN chief's Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini in an interview with Lebanon’s Arabic-language daily An Nahar today.
The UN official said that the World Food Program has recently warned that it would suspend its operations starting November not just in Lebanon and Jordan but in Syria too if it does not receive new funding.
Mr Lazzarini added that today’s meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon in New York is aimed at sending a message that Lebanon remains a “priority on the agenda of the international community.” He lamented however that several international grants have been frozen because of the government’s failure to approve them.
For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders at the opening of the General Assembly debate that UN humanitarian agencies were "broke” at a time when the world body is struggling to help some 60 million people displaced by conflict, the highest number since the end of World War II.
The foreign minister of G7 (Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States) and Arab countries (Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates) and other European ministers met in New York to address the issue.
At Germany’s initiative, 19 countries said Tuesday that they are donating US$ 1.8 billion to the top UN aid organisations to help Mideast migrants and refugees in camps, which continue to grow because of ongoing Mideast conflicts. The new funding will go especially to refugees living in camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
Gulf States that pledged aid include Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Recently, they came in for harsh criticism for failing to respond to a refugee emergency involving people who are culturally (Muslim and Arab) and geographically (Mideast) close to them.
However, as analysts and experts have pointed out (see Fr Samir Khalil Samir’s interview with AsiaNews), refugees themselves do not want help and hospitality in rich Arab nations, preferring instead the more open heart and rights of Europe.
Japan has also decided to contribute US$ 1.5 billion to help refugees in and from Syria and Iraq, and support peace-building efforts in the wider Middle East.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, currently underway in New York, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a package that includes US$ 810 million to assist refugees displaced people in and from Syria and Iraq – triple the amount Japan provided last year – and US$ 750 million for peace building efforts in the Middle East and Africa.
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20/05/2011
