Brussels, 17/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - Kristalina Goergieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, and Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations, carried out a joint mission last weekend to the refugee camps in Lebanon (in the Bekaa region), before travelling on to Jordan. This gave them the opportunity to pay tribute to the generosity of the host countries in the region, to take the measure of the enormous humanitarian requirements and to call on the international community to show generosity to alleviate the suffering of the civilian populations. More than 500,000 Syrians have found refuge in the neighbouring countries and it is believed that their number will continue to increase by around 3,200 people a day.
In Lebanon, the two partners visited humanitarian projects for refugees (157,000 are registered and dispersed through 500 towns and villages; there are no refugee camps) and the host families who are sharing their meagre resources, and met Prime Minister Najib Miqati. Noting the scale of the requirements, they stated that an increased effort on the part of the international community will be vital, as it will make it possible to guarantee that the borders can remain open to Syrians seeking protection. Georgieva stressed the need to boost the humanitarian effort, given the increasing intensity of fighting and the approach of winter. “The EU will not stand idle”, she said, stressing that the Commission has just made an extra €30 million in aid available, which will bring the total pledged by the EU so far to nearly €400 million.
Guterres thanked Lebanon and its population, who have “welcomed Syrian refugees with open borders, as well as open arms. Their generosity is an example to the world.”
Georgiva pledged that Lebanon could count on humanitarian aid in addition to the €7 million initially made available. “We are now transferring funds that will raise our contribution to the United Nations agencies and NGOs in Lebanon to €21 million. And more will be available very soon”, she said. Guterres and Georgieva also called on all parties to the conflict to guarantee full humanitarian access and to ensure protection for civilians fleeing the fighting. “Millions of Syrians are affected by this conflict and hundreds of thousands are uprooted and on the move, in search of safety. Getting help to them is difficult and dangerous. And those seeking protection in neighbouring countries are often in extreme danger right up to the borders. The safety of the civilian population is of paramount importance”, Guterres declared. (AN/transl.fl)