Major donors urge more efforts to boost humanitarian situation in Syria

The 9th meeting of major donors to Syria called for maintaining international efforts to promote humanitarian situation in Syria and alleviate suffering of the Syrian people. In a final communique issued Monday, the conferees stressed the necessity of honoring pledges made during donors conferences, promoting humanitarian response plans and providing support for host countries of Syrian refugees that are facing many burdens. They referred to the importance of holding the 5th international donors conference so as to meet increasing needs of Syrian internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, the communique said.

They also reiterated the necessity of cooperation of the international community to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, Geneva I statement and relevant international resolutions, with the aim of stopping the bloodshed of Syrians, ending their suffering, returning IDPs and refugees to their homes, and beginning the reconstruction process.

The participants urged the international community and the UNSC to work seriously to put pressures on the conflicting parties in Syria so as to lift siege imposed on the cities and towns, and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, it added.

They affirmed the need to protect civilians in light of the shortage of food, medical supplies, medicine and warming in frigid winter in the besieged areas, it pointed out. They recommend inviting Syria’s neighboring countries to attend the forthcoming meetings due in Qatar, denouncing the deadly incidents in eastern Aleppo that lead to demographical changes.

The participants condemned the forcible displacement of tens of thousands of people to the countryside of Idlib and western Aleppo after imposing siege for three months that was associated with random shelling which killed hundreds of civilians, including children, women, medical staff, relief workers and civil defense teams.

They extolled role of Kuwait, His Highness the Amir, government and people for hosting the meeting, out of the State’s leading humanitarian position and its keenness on coordinating efforts to promote humanitarian situation in Syria and following up honoring pledges made during the international donors conferences.

The meeting gathered representatives from Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt - host countries of large numbers of Syrian refugees - and some delegations from the World Bank and international humanitarian organizations. The event discussed humanitarian developments in Syria and examined how far pledges of aid made at the Syria donors conference last February in London have come.

The State of Kuwait has been providing humanitarian needs to the Syrians affected by the conflict. It hosted three international humanitarian pledging conferences for Syria for three years in a row during which donations exceeded $7 billion. Kuwait donated $1.6 billion during the three conferences it hosted and the fourth one held in London last years. — KUNA