World pledges more than $6bn for Syrians and neighbouring countries

The National breaks down the biggest pledges made by the international community in Brussels

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, centre, greets leaders during the Brussels donor conference for Syria. AP

The EU announced on Thursday that it had raised more than $6 billion in international grants to support Syrians both inside the borders and in neighbouring countries.

At the end of a two-day conference attended by representatives from more than 50 countries, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said €5.6 billion ($6.13 billion) had been raised.

“I believe this is a tangible demonstration that the international community stands by the Syrian people,” said Mr Lenarcic at the conclusion of the Brussels donor conference, the seventh to be held since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011.

Donors and international financing institutions also pledged concessional loans worth €4 billion ($4.38 billion), bringing the total amount of grants and loans for Syria to $10.3 billion.

Here, The National breaks down the largest pledges.

Who pledged the most?

Not all countries made new announcements. The EU is likely to wait a few days before publishing a full breakdown with details.

The biggest announcement came from Germany, which pledged €1.053 billion ($1.15 billion) for humanitarian resilience, development and stabilisation measures in Syria and host countries in the region for 2023 and 2024.

Tobias Lindner, Germany’s minister of state at the Federal Foreign Office, said that significant support to countries such as Lebanon and Jordan remained necessary as long as refugees feared returning to Syria.

There are more than five million Syrian refugees living in neighbouring countries, according to the UN.

“The Syrian conflict remains protracted crisis that requires massive efforts to respond and mitigate protection risks concerning gender-based violence, child protection, housing and property rights, civil documentation and mine action,” said Mr Lindner.

“That is why we have to be very clear: return to Syria can only happen on a voluntary basis, in safety and dignity.”

The US closely followed Germany with an announcement of more than $920 million in new humanitarian assistance, said Uzra Zeya, undersecretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights.

Ms Zeya said that Syria held a “special place in her heart” because she had worked at the US embassy in Damascus in the 1990s.

Twelve years after the start of the war, she said she was “appalled that most of the Syrian people cannot meet their basic needs and millions remain displaced”.

Focus on host countries

Like Germany, France highlighted that the focus needed to remain on supporting host countries. Lebanon crystallises fears of state collapse, fuelling concerns over more arrivals of refugees on European shores.

In addition to having the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, the small Mediterranean country also suffers from a man-made financial crisis which has given rise to resentment against refugees.

“France will donate more than €190 million ($207 million) to Syria and host countries in 2023,” said France’s ambassador to Syria Brigitte Curmi.

She lambasted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad for causing instability across the region and fuelling drug trafficking.

“Our message is that only a political process will allow Syria to reach long lasting peace,” she said.

Norway gave a cautiously optimistic assessment of a recent diplomatic attempt led by the Arab League at re-engaging with Damascus.

Syria’s return to the Arab League was a much-discussed topic during the day, with the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell saying that the bloc refused to follow suit but is open to supporting the league’s efforts at achieving a solution to the conflict.

Norway is a close EU ally but not a member.

Norwegian State Secretary Erling Rimestad said that his country welcomed “efforts to reduce tension and increase regional co-operation”.

“We hope this leads to a renewed push for a political solution to the conflict in Syria,” he added.

Mr Rimestad announced that Oslo would commit 1.42 billion NOK ($135,000) to Syria and neighbouring countries in 2023.

“We support the removal of explosives and the reconstruction of health facilities, schools and irrigation systems without being dogmatic on how much they need to be damaged before they can be fixed or whether [they were] destroyed by the war or the earthquakes,” said Mr Rimestad, referring to the February earthquake in Syria and Turkey that killed close to 60,000 people, mostly in Turkey.

The disaster prompted further calls for aid for the region.

Coming renewal of cross-border aid mechanism

Many donors also used the two-minute slot they were given to call for the renewal of the UN cross-border aid mechanism that allows aid to enter north-west Syria, a region outside government control, via the Turkish border. The Syrian region was the one most affected by the February earthquake.

The mechanism was renewed in January for six months and is set to expire on July 10, and there are fears that Russia or China could use their veto power at the UN Security Council to reduce available routes.

Ann Snow, the UK’s special representative for Syria, called for the extension and the expansion of the mechanism’s mandate.

“The scale of need demands reliable access for at least 12 months via the three currently operational crossings,” said Ms Snow.

The UK pledged £150 million ($191 million) for “life-saving assistance” to Syria.

Other top donors included Japan ($220 million) and Canada ($148 million).

Was it enough?

The humanitarian sector was not satisfied by the pledges.

Syrians need “way more than is possible today”, ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said from Brussels.

UN agencies asked donor countries for $11.1 billion over the next year both for Syrians at home and across the region.

The UN's resident co-ordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, said that he was “shocked by the unprecedented rise in level of humanitarian needs” in Syria.

He added that “90 per cent of the population live in poverty, nearly half of schoolchildren are not attending school, prices of basic commodities are skyrocketing by the day and most of the country’s infrastructure is severely damaged or completely destroyed”.

Mr Abdelmoula said that the UN’s humanitarian response plan was “dangerously unfunded”, currently at only 11 per cent of its goal.

He thanked donors in Brussels for their pledges, but said: “We need your support and we need it now.”