“The Syrians are not alone”: they can count on the solidarity and financial support of the international community to alleviate the suffering and the humanitarian tragedy they have been living through for more than seven years. This is the message sent out to the Syrian people on Wednesday 25 April by the EU, the UN and the 85 delegations in attendance at the Brussels II international conference of donors on the aid to be provided for the future of Syria and the countries of the region (see EUROPE 12008).
When the conference closed, the pledges of aid totalled US$4.4 billion for 2018 and US$3.4 billion for 2019 and beyond. The EU as a whole collectively pledged US$6 billion up to 2019, or three quarters of total pledges, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, announced, adding that he was delighted that the “EU is leading by example as the largest donor”.
This will go some way to meeting the UN’s enormous expectations. Its financing needs for this year to allow it to continue to provide vital assistance to the millions of displaced persons and refugees and their host communities will come to US$3.6 billion for the humanitarian response plan in Syria (for which 23% of the funding, or just US$800 million, was in place at the start of the conference) and US$5.6 billion for the resilience plan (of which just US$1.2 billion had been pledged at previous conferences), stressed the Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the UN (OCHA), Mark Lowcock.
The calls of the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, to maintain or increase funding to help 13 million people living in desperate conditions, were heard by the EU, which also appreciated the guarantee provided by Lowcock that the needs assessment and monitoring of the implementation of the aid would be carried out by UN agencies. Full humanitarian access still needs to be guaranteed throughout the territory - a demand echoed by all participants.
In the framework of the available resources, the aid will be focused on the vulnerable populations in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib, which have suffered the most extreme violence in recent weeks, and the vulnerable populations in areas controlled by the government, in full respect of the humanitarian principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality.
Education for children in Syria and the host countries and the education of populations at risk from unexploded anti-personnel mines will be priorities, but not the only ones.
Commissioner Stylianides observed that the protection of people, a central challenge for humanitarian aid work, is a priority to all: the protection of civilians, infrastructure and humanitarian workers.
For 2018, the EU has pledged €560 million, “the same contribution as last year, and aims to maintain the same level next year and up to 2020”, said the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. This money will help vulnerable Syrians in the country, but will also provide resilience support to 5.6 million refugees and their host communities in neighbouring countries (Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt). The member states will stick to their commitment to mobilise an extra €3 billion for refugees in Turkey in the coming years.
Particular attention will be paid to children “so that a generation of Syrian children is not sacrificed” and to stabilisation and early recovery efforts in the areas that have been liberated from Daesh control. “But for reconstruction, the money will not be available until a clear and credible political process has been set in place in Geneva”, the High Representative stressed (see other article).
“Germany will make an extra €1 billion available for 2018 and the following years”, announced the country’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas. The French secretary of state to the ministry of foreign affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, confirmed the €50 million in fresh money already announced by President Macron for 2018. Belgium has pledged €26 million. Penny Mordaunt, the British Secretary of State for International Development, announced at least £450 million for Syria and the region in 2018 (including £200 million in fresh money) and £300 million in 2019 (including £50 million in fresh money) for medical supplies, post-trauma care, training for doctors and nurses and equipment to protect the population from further attacks. She confirmed that the United Kingdom would pay its share of the second tranche of the facility for refugees in Turkey.
“The international community has met to galvanise support for Syria. Our first concern is to try to relieve the suffering of the population. Our message is clear: we are not giving up on Syria. The people need our support; they are the victims in this”, she commented.
The Danish Minister for International development, Ulla Tørnæs, spoke of “nearly 100 million on the table for humanitarian aid and development aid”.
Last year, the EU and the international donors undertook to provide €5.6 billion in aid for 2017 and €3.47 billion for the period 2018-2020. Since 2011, the EU has mobilised nearly €11 billion in response to the Syrian crisis. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)