On Tuesday 30 June, the EU and the international community sent a message of support to the Syrians victims of a serious and persistent humanitarian crisis and to the host countries of the Syrian refugees, as well as a political message to the participants in the conflict to commit themselves to a comprehensive political solution.
Putting their words into action, donors pledged €6.9 billion (US$7.7 billion), of which €4.9 billion (US$5.5 billion) for 2020 and €2 billion (US$2.2 billion) for 2021 and beyond. This is accompanied by €6 billion ($6.7 billion) in concessional loans from financial institutions, as part of the ministerial segment of the international conference in support of the future of Syria and the region (Brussels IV), co-organised by the EU and the United Nations with the participation of 80 countries and regional and international organisations (see EUROPE 12515/15). The EU alone will contribute €2.3 billion for 2020 and 2021, of which €560 million for 2021 and €700 million for macrofinancial assistance. EU Member States have pledged €2.6 billion.
The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, welcomed this solidarity expressed in “concrete commitments that will make a difference for millions of people”. He stressed that this generosity was being shown in difficult times, as Covid-19 was significantly increasing humanitarian needs worldwide and putting pressure on the economies of donor countries.
Evoking “a great disaster: a million lives lost, 6 million refugees, more than 6 million displaced persons, a whole generation for whom war is the daily routine [and] humanitarian needs [which] remain enormous”, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, paid tribute at the opening of the conference to the solidarity shown by Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, which are hosting millions of refugees, and stressed the need to support them.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, has estimated the needs of UNOCHA this year at $6 billion for the refugee resilience programme and $3 billion for humanitarian assistance.
Supported by many delegations, the UN representative called for the renewal of Security Council Resolution 2504 on cross-border humanitarian assistance, which expires on 10 July. “Authorisation must be restored for the United Nations to cross the border into northeastern Syria at the al-Yaarubiyah crossing,”, Jeffrey said.
Mr Lowcock also called on the international community to pay more attention to children in Syria, “a generation deprived of education”. 3 million children in the country are deprived of schooling and 2 million outside Syria have access to “some schooling”. 56% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon go to school and 100% of them are enrolled in Egypt, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said. The refugee situation has also worsened with the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Mr Grandi, “50% of the refugees who had a job have lost it”.
Beyond financial assistance, Mr Grandi called on the international community to fulfil its commitments regarding the resettlement of refugees. Mr Grandi noted that the resettlement figures for Syrian refugees in Europe had been steadily declining. From 50,000 in 2016, the number of these resettled refugees has halved in 2019. “And this year the figure is even lower”, he said. “The pressure in the host countries is still very high. I call on donors to share this responsibility”, he said, recalling that Lebanon is facing a serious economic and financial crisis.
International support for the political process
This fourth conference was again an opportunity to call for a political solution for Syria and to ask all parties to cooperate fully with the UN Special Envoy, Geir Pedersen, so that the third meeting of the Constitutional Commission could begin without further delay. “It is time to break the deadlock in the Geneva talks, it is time to forge a political solution and bring an inclusive peace to Syria”, Mr Borrell said. The only way to lasting peace was through intra-Syrian negotiations conducted by the United Nations in Geneva “and not through military operations”, he said.
The High Representative directly attacked the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The latter needs to understand that he has to actually engage in political negotiations, Mr Borrell stressed. “It is only after he has changed his behaviour, ended the repression against his own people and engaged in the political process that we can begin to talk about normalisation”, he warned. For the American representative, James Jeffrey, the international community must remain “firm” and insist that there will be no political or economic normalisation with the regime until there is a political solution to the ongoing conflict in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
Commenting on the criticism that European sanctions would have a negative impact on the population, Mr Borrell said that the EU sanctions should not be held responsible for the disastrous state of the Syrian economy and the difficulties faced by ordinary Syrian citizens. “EU sanctions do not target the civilian population. There are no sanctions on humanitarian aid or medical supplies. Our sanctions target those who oppress the Syrian people, who bomb health facilities and schools and who use chemical weapons”, he said.
See the co-Chairs’ statement issued at the end of the conference: https://bit.ly/3eOgZkb (Original version in French by Aminata Niang and Camille-Cerise Gessant)