UN Humanitarian Envoy Warns of Refugees Crisis Impact

The United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs HE Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Muraikhi warned that the continuity of the refugees crisis will lead to a state of instability at both regional and international levels, calling for concerted regional and international efforts to face it.
During a session under the title "the Legal and Human Dimensions of the Refugees Crisis" within the 17th. Doha Forum, Dr. Al Muraikhi said that refugees crisis is highly complex and has some political, economic, social and cultural factors, particularly conflicts, military conflicts and occupation.
On the funding allocated for refugees, he said that the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has provided assistance to all refugees of over USD one billion since the beginning of 2017 adding that the there is still a USD 7 billion funding gap for refugees around the world.
He extended thanks to the State of Qatar for its efforts in providing generous humanitarian aid to facing humanitarian crises around the world, while praising the initiatives of Education Above All Foundation which helped hundreds of thousands of children around the world.
HE said that the volume of the Qatari Assistance to the Syrian people has exceeded USD 1.5 billion since the beginning of the crisis.Dr. Al Muraikhi lauded the efforts of a number of countries that have assumed their responsibilities towards the refugees through the provision of generous assistance, including the GCC countries, a number of European Union countries and the United States, in addition to Turkey, which has received nearly 3 million Syrian refugees, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Germany. 
He pointed out that the GCC countries host and provide generous humanitarian aid to many Syrian Iraqi and Yemeni refugees in addition to refugees from other countries experiencing conflicts and natural disasters. He warned that the refugee crisis had become a global crisis as a result of the challenges, armed conflicts and protracted crises in addition to climate change effects and consequences.
Dr. Al Muraikhi pointed to the serious impacts on the vulnerable groups such as children, women and the elderly as results of forced displacement and prolonged conflicts in a number of countries, especially in the Arab region.
According to UN statistics, the number of Syrian refugees has reached an unprecedented record of 5 million, Dr. Al Muraikhi said adding in the same context that some 5,000 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean during the past year.
Al Muraikhi also pointed out that internally displaced persons in Syria are subjected to starvation, siege, destruction and killing in a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, indicating the regime and armed groups' disrespect of the rights of unarmed civilians during conflicts.
At the conclusion, Dr. Al Muraikhi stressed that the refugee crisis requires innovative and urgent solutions, as well as responding to repeated humanitarian appeals, strengthening means of protection and, above all, reaching lasting political solutions to conflicts. 

Source: QNA