Kuwait City – Kuwait has announced this Wednesday (15) a donation of US$ 500 million in aid of the victims of the Syrian civil conflict. The sum to be passed on to UN agencies and other humanitarian help entities was released by the Gulf country’s emir, Sabah Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, at the opening of the Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, in the Kuwaiti capital.
“I urge everyone, every country and international organization, to offer support and assistance to our Syrian brothers,” said the emir. In the first edition of the conference, held last year also in Kuwait, the government announced the donation of US$ 300 million.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness among the international community of the importance of donating resources to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Syrian. The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, who is presiding the conference, says he is “extremely worried with reports of starvation [among Syrian people],” and with the use by opposing sides of the conflict “of violence against women and girls to degrade and dehumanize their opponents.”
“I call for immediate stop of these abuses which hurt individuals and jeopardize the future of Syria,” declared Ban, who believes the country has gone back “years or decades” since the war started almost three years ago.
He said he hopes the second Syria Peace Conference, to be held in Montreux, Switzerland, on January 22, will “launch a political process, to establish a transition government with broad executive powers and, most importantly, that ends the violence.”
Ban added, however, that much damage has already been done, and that any political process “shall have to be built with sustainable humanitarian aid and then with long-term development assistance.”
The UN secretary-general also emphasized the impact that the conflict has on neighboring countries, which have already received millions of refugees. Economic growth in Lebanon has suffered a draw-back by 3%, representing losses of US$ 7.5 billion. In Jordan, the costs of receiving refugees reach US$ 1.5 billion.
For this year, the UN says it needs US$ 6.5 billion to ensure humanitarian assistance for the Syrian population. “Let us show the Syrian people that the world is here to help,” stated Ban to the representatives of various countries gathered in Kuwait.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, added that the conflict has caused a retraction by 45% in Syria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the local currency, the Syrian pound, has lost 80% of it’s value. “Prices have sky-rocketed,” she emphasized.
According to Amos, water supply has been reduced by 50% and more than 2 million children are not going to school. “We may have a lost generation,” she alerted. “All sides in this conflict have showed utter disrespect towards their responsibilities and human rights international laws. The fabric of society has been unwoven and sectarianism has been consolidated,” she stated.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterrez, said that once one of the greatest providers of help for refugees, Syria has become one of the greatest suppliers. “I urge all borders to be opened [for refugees], not only those in the region,” he stated.
Among the donations announced this Wednesday are that by the United States, of US$ 380 million. “We are committed not only to this donation, but to an immediate stop to the conflict,” said the North American secretary of State, John Kerry.
The United Kingdom, in turn, has promised 100 million pounds, Norway US$ 75 million, Qatar and Saudi Arabia US$ 60 million each and Iraq announced a donation of US$ 13 million.
*Translated by Silvia Lindsey
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