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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
$1.5b Gulf aid for Syrians
2013-01-31
KUWAIT CITY -- Gulf nations answered calls to boost humanitarian aid for Syria with $1.5 billion in pledges on Wednesday even as more refugees poured into neighbouring Jordan and its leader warned resources were strained to the limit, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said.

"We exceeded the target" of the conference, Ban said at the closing of the one-day meeting during which the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pledged $300 million each.
It's like pledge week for public TV. Wonder how much of the $1.5 billion they'll actually collect?
I wouldn't start spending against any of it until the checks cleared at both ends.
Making the UAE's pledge, General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said: "The UAE, as per the directives of the President, His Highness Shaeikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, initiated humanitarian work since the beginning of the events in Syria, to fulfil its responsibilities in providing relief to the Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries."

Referring to the horrific events experienced by Syria and the human tragedy witnessed by the people of the country, Gen. Shaikh Mohammed said that they were "immense and terrible" by all accounts and that "the daily destruction in Syria has stirred human emotions and put a great challenge to the international conscience".

"The plight of civilians in Syria is a test for the legitimate, humanitarian and moral responsibility of the international community to secure protection for them," he added.

The Gulf promises at a donors' conference hosted by Kuwait -- added to earlier relief fund increases by the U.S. and European Union -- pushed close to the U.N.'s appeal for at least $1.5 billion in immediate aid. But the funds are only expected to cover the coming months, highlighting the massive burden to cope with needs from Syria's civil war and its spillover in the region.

The pledges also will likely face close scrutiny on how quickly the money will reach over-stretched aid groups directed by the U.N. and other agencies.
Like I was saying...
Officials in Egypt and elsewhere have complained that many generous international offers for help after the Arab Spring upheavals have not yet materialiszed.
You mean, Arabs would pledge money and then not follow through? Quick Ethel, my pills!
Jordan's economic council said the country was already near the breaking point. The kingdom has spent more than $833 billion on aid for refugees -- accounting for nearly half the estimated 700,000 people who have fled Syria -- and that it was unable to sustain a financial burden that has so far siphoned off about three3 per cent of its GDP. Some U.N. officials say the refugee figures could approach one1 million later this year if the conflict in Syria does not ease.

Speaking at the U.N.-led gathering in Kuwait, Jordan's King Abdullah II said sheltering and assisting the refugee wave is above the country's "capacity and potential.".

"We have reached the end of the line. We have exhausted our resources," he said.

The head of the U.S. delegation, Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard, lauded the donations from Gulf nations, which often bankroll their own aid efforts but are not traditional top donors to U.N. programmes. She noted, however, that the humanitarian funds are only to deal with immediate needs over the coming months.

"It's good for now, but predictions are that it's not going to be over soon," said Richard, who deals with refugee and migration affairs.
Posted by:Steve White

#1  I'm going all out under another name so I don't get annoyed by the local library.
Posted by: Shipman   2013-01-31 17:55  

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