At present, a total of 6.8 million people require immediate humanitarian assistance inside Syria. There are over 4 million Syrians who have been internally displaced, while a further 1.5 million people have been forced to abandon their country altogether. Countries hosting refugees, such as Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon, are under great pressure as the influx continues. There are also grave concerns that the spread of disease could have catastrophic consequences as temperatures rise in the coming months. Ireland has already provided over €8.15 million in assistance to Syria and the wider region, making us one of the most generous donors to the humanitarian response on a per capita basis. This support from the Irish people has been provided through credible partners such as WFP, UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
As one of the founding members of the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) initiative, Ireland is committed to acting as a responsible and accountable donor. We are also committed to the implementation of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, which articulates the EU and its Member States’ commitment to ensuring that humanitarian aid pledges are met in a timely manner and are clearly linked to the needs of those most affected.
As part of our overall total support to the Syria crisis response, I pledged €4.7 million at the High-Level International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in January 2013. Since I made that commitment, Ireland has already surpassed it, with funding of €5.7 million having been provided to date this year. The UN plans for the humanitarian situation in Syria and its neighbouring countries requested a total of €1.5 billion. The pledges at the International Pledging Conference reached this amount but regrettably the international community has only provided funding valued at just over 70% of the pledged commitments to date. We are doing all we can to ensure that other States follow our example in meeting their promises in full and without delay.
During my visit to al-Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan in 2012 and the Tánaiste’s visit to Nizip refugee camp in southern Turkey in April this year, we both drew attention to the plight of Syrians and the urgency for global action to address their needs. As Presidency of the Council of European Union during the first half of 2013, we have also underlined the gravity of the humanitarian situation, including at the informal meeting of the Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA) held in Dublin last month. We have also highlighted the dire humanitarian situation and the need for further donor support at the ‘Friends of Syria’ conferences in Paris, Tunis, Istanbul and Marrakesh and the ‘Syria Humanitarian Forum’ discussions in Geneva. When I meet Valerie Amos (Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator) in New York next week, I will raise this very serious humanitarian situation and discuss with her how we can all work together to achieve an effective humanitarian response.
As the Deputy will be aware, humanitarian needs are continuing to escalate, both within Syria and in neighbouring countries. Ireland will therefore continue to use every opportunity to put a spotlight on this deteriorating situation and emphasise the imperative for all of us to fulfil promises made to assist those worse affected by this conflict.
