The United States, the European Union, and international donors announced the allocation of more than five billion dollars in aid to support the Syrian people during an annual conference held in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to collect financial support for Syria and the countries hosting Syrian refugees.
The American delegate to the United Nations announced that her country had allocated $800 million to support the Syrian people.
In his speech at the Sixth Brussels Conference on "Supporting the future of Syria and the region", the European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Josep Borrell said that the Commission pledged three billion dollars to support Syria.
Borrell added that the European Union will not ease the sanctions imposed on Bashar al-Assad's regime and will not normalize its relations with it before the Syrians can return to their homes.
And he added, "90% of the Syrian people live in poverty, while 60% of them lack food security," noting the heavy burden borne by countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq for being countries hosting Syrian refugees.
The European official expressed his hope for a "voluntary, permanent, safe and dignified" return of Syrian refugees, stressing that the Syrian regions bordering Turkey are gaining priority in terms of providing aid.
For its part, Germany pledged to provide more than one billion and 300 million dollars to support the Syrian people.
Qatar also announced the allocation of 50 million dollars to support the Syrian people, and a statement of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the announcement came during the speech of Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Regional Affairs, before the Brussels Conference.
Al-Khulaifi pointed out, according to the statement, that "the Qatari aid to the Syrians has exceeded two billion dollars since the beginning of the crisis, whether through government aid or through civil society organizations, humanitarian and charitable associations, and Qatari donor institutions."
He added, "The State of Qatar stresses that accountability and the prevention of impunity are essential elements to deter the continuation or recurrence of crimes against humanity, and a conducive factor to achieving reconciliation and sustainable peace and putting an end to the long-standing Syrian crisis."
During the conference, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the donors that "the Syrians have never needed your support more than now."
Josep Borrell (left) said that the European Union will not ease the sanctions imposed on the regime of Bashar al-Assad (Anatolia)
massive displacement
Pedersen said that the massive Syrian exodus continues, while the progress that Damascus is making in terms of meeting international demands related to political reforms remains slight.
He pointed out that "the economic crisis continues, violence continues, and the danger of escalation always exists, despite the fact that there is a somewhat military stalemate... and diplomacy has become more difficult than it was" due to the effects of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
It is noteworthy that the European Union organized the Sixth Brussels Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region" on the ninth and tenth of May.
The Brussels conferences aim to continue supporting the Syrian people in their country and the region and mobilizing the international community to support a comprehensive and credible political solution to the Syrian conflict, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254, according to the union.
At the Fifth Brussels Conference, held in April 2021, international donors pledged to provide $4.4 billion in humanitarian aid to Syrians residing inside their country, refugees and host communities in neighboring regions.
Since 2011, Syria has been witnessing a civil war that began after Bashar al-Assad's regime suppressed popular protests against it, which began on March 15 of the same year, forcing millions of people to flee or seek refuge in neighboring countries.