São Paulo – The secretary general of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon, will preside over a high-level conference in Kuwait City, on January 30th, to call on UN member countries to donate to Syrian refugees. In mid-December 2012, the UN made a plea to raise US$ 1 billion in order to help Syrian citizens who fled the conflict in their country.
The conference will be organized by the Kuwaiti government by request of the UN secretary general. According to a press statement released by Ki-moon’s spokesperson, the event is “a timely and much needed opportunity to address the funding gap.” “The secretary general urges all Member States to be generous in their pledges and is thankful to those who continue to support the humanitarian efforts,” according to the statement.
The funds will be used to support Syrian refugees in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt. The UN estimates that one million Syrian refugees will need aid by mid-year.
The UN website informs that another US$ 519 million will be needed to help 4 million people in Syria who are in urgent need for humanitarian aid, including roughly two million people who are internally displaced.
According to the United Nations, in early 2013, winter time in the Northern Hemisphere, many families are struggling to remain heated without proper shelter, clothing or fuel for heaters. The statement also notes that over half the refugees are children.
According to the UN, 60,000 people have died since the conflicts between rebels and Bashar Al-Assad’s regime erupted, in March 2011.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
