European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has pledged €2.12 billion in humanitarian aid to Syrians living at home and as refugees in neighbouring countries.
A further €1.7 billion was pledged by EU member states on the final day of the EU’s seventh conference on supporting Syria and the region on Thursday.
UN agencies had asked donor countries gathering in Brussels this week for more than €10 billion over the next year.
A total of €4.6 billion was pledged in grants for 2023 and another €1 billion for 2024 and beyond.
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While 6.2 million Syrians have been displaced within their country since civil and proxy warfare erupted in 2011, 5.6 million Syrian refugees have been hosted by Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said: “During 20 years of visiting Syria, I have never seen such poverty.” He said the “solution for the refugee problem must be found in Syria” once conditions are met for their return, including reconstruction. This has been obstructed by European and United States sanctions.
Ahead of the conference, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimated that nearly 90 per cent of Syrians live below the poverty line, with more than 15 million [out of a total of 23 million Syrians] needing humanitarian assistance.
According to ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni: “The international community must confront the harsh reality that the current situation in Syria is untenable. Failure to act will have dire consequences for all and hinder any prospects for sustainable recovery.”
The ICRC appealed to donor states for “an immediate international commitment to safeguard critical infrastructure and essential services” as well as for comprehensive humanitarian response [until] durable solutions can be found.”
The ICRC appeal was given added urgency on Wednesday by a cut by the World Food Programme (WFP) in aid to Syrians who depend on the agency for basic food needs. “After exhausting all other options, WFP took the decision to stretch the extremely limited resources by prioritising three million Syrians who are unable to make it from one week to the next without food assistance rather than continue assistance to 5.5 million people and run out of food completely by October.”
The WFP said: “After 12 years of conflict, massive displacement, a global pandemic pushing prices to record highs, and most recently, devastating earthquakes, Syrians have been living in a perpetual state of emergency.”
Syrians are not the only Arabs facing cuts in food aid amid perpetual emergencies. Nearly 33 million Yemenis have suffered eight years of warfare and hardship with no end in sight while five million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been subjected to deprivation under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said on June 12th that “redirection of aid and attention towards Ukraine has increased neglect of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
