At the eighth ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’ conference, the European Union announced, on Monday 27 May, that it had pledged financial support of €2.12 billion in 2024 and 2025 for the Syrians, who have been plunged into a devastating civil war for 13 years.
This aid will support both Syrians in Syria and refugees in neighbouring countries, as well as their host communities in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
The total amount released by the international community at Monday’s conference was €7.5 billion (€5 billion in grants and €2.5 billion in loans).
According to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, the conflict has led to the exodus of seven million Syrian refugees, and the situation is worse than it was a year ago (see EUROPE 13199/16).
Nearly 13 million people are struggling to feed themselves, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who in a video message to participants on Monday stressed the importance of a comprehensive and credible political solution to the Syrian conflict, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
The foreign ministers of several Arab countries have warned of the humanitarian and security consequences if the Syrian conflict is not resolved and displaced persons are not repatriated.
“200,000 Syrian children are at the Jordanian border. They need schools and universities. Without more support, we won’t be able to go any further”, warned Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, saying that donors had to “rise to the occasion.
If they can’t live a dignified life in the region, they will take the migratory route”, he added, referring to “Europe’s migratory crisis”.
“The spread of poverty is exploited by terrorist organisations. (...) We are convinced that the Syrian crisis casts a shadow over our peoples”, said Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
The Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bouhabi, spoke of “a point of no return in terms of receiving Syrian refugees” in Lebanon. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)