Dear Subscribers,
We are re-running a story about Syrian refugees published earlier in the day.
ANKARA (AA) - 1.5-2 million more Syrians might leave their country in 2014 unless there is a peace agreement and security situation changes on the ground, says Amin Awad, UNHCR's Director of its Bureau for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Regional Refugee Coordinator, in an interview with AA.
Giving the latest figures in Syria, Amin Awad said Monday, "The estimate that we have inside Syria is about 4-5 million displaced people. As you know, it is difficult for humanitarian agencies to access some areas.” He added that "the needs are tremendous, there is need for health, education, food, services such as water, electricity, waste management, and above all of course security and protection for these people who are now internally displaced, moving from one place from another. Half of the numbers are children."
- Lebanon shelters highest number of refugees
Awad said of refugee numbers in neighboring countries, "The highest number is now in Lebanon, it is over 800,000 refugees and still growing. Lebanon really needs a lot of support. The other figures are in Jordan where there are about 550,000, in northern Iraq there are another 200,000, in Egypt there are about 100-200,000 people, most of them are in big cities like Cairo, Alexandria. For us some of them are really difficult to track, some have the resources and have rented accommodations, some do not and they do receive assistance."
- Almost 2 million more refugees from Syria expected in 2014
Concerning the rising refugee numbers, Awad said, "The figures that we have are really carefully calculated. It may be anywhere between 1.4-1.5-2 million that will be leaving Syria in 2014, unless there is a peace agreement, a change in climate and security situation on the ground, and unless there are better conditions inside Syria."
"For that, we are trying as much as possible, we are asking for access in Syria, ceasefires and humanitarian pauses so that our relief trucks can go through and assist people in their localities. Above all, I think these people need protection, services, food, water, health facilities and security and they need to be shielded from this fighting, shelling, bombardments. Unless really peace is restored in some areas of Syria, we will see a lot of movement inside and outside Syria," Awad indicates their sensitivity on subject.
Awad said work continued on the Regional Response Plan for the refugees in surrounding countries of Syria and it would be launched in December 2013.
- "Guarded optimism"
UNHCR Regional Coordinator Awad expressed optimism about the developments regarding the talks with the Syrian regime.
"There is an atmosphere of optimism, but it is a guarded optimism. There is Geneva-2, there was the Security Council a few weeks ago that united the members of the council to take some decision and there was a presidential statement of the Council on humanitarian assistance and that’s being translated into action. So there are a lot of positive signs and I hope that these positive developments and optimism continue."
Asked on Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s criticism on lack of reference to humanitarian crisis in the UN Security Council resolution, Awad said, "I really do believe that we should keep humanitarian issues on the agenda of the international community, of the Security Council, of the regional mechanisms, to make sure that this issue facing the surrounding countries and Syria itself are on the agenda and are being addressed in a robust manner."
When asked if there were any concrete steps to deliver aid to those in need inside Syria he said, "The corridor from Jordan is open. We are shipping most of our supplies from Jordan to Syria. We are also shipping supplies by sea to Latakia."
He also evaluated alternative corridor options, saying, "It depends on neighboring countries and their agreement with Syria. But for now the best is to negotiate access, negotiate with the authorities the best possible ways to deliver assistance to Syrian people."
- "Turkish government invested $2.2 billion in humanitarian action"
Awad specifically thanked the Turkish government, which he said had "already invested about 2.2 billion USD in humanitarian action."
"We are very grateful to the Turkish government and Turkish people for hosting these refugees, for adhering to international standards and obligations under international law, for keeping the borders open and letting refugees come as they flee a war.”
UNHCR Regional Coordinator Awad also talked about the main needs expressed by Turkish officials regarding the refugees. He said: "Turkish government says that there are about 660,000 refugees now, of course there may be some other refugees that may need to be registered yet, so I think one of the challenges the Turkish government will face now is to make sure that as soon as possible registration, mobile stations and centers are established so that every refugee is registered."
Awad said it would be good "because then we will be able to determine vulnerabilities, will be able to break down the population of the refugees by location, by gender, by age and also identify the vulnerabilities, the size of families among those refugees and then it will be easier for the government and for us to really target the delivery of assistance to these refugees."
Awad said he appreciated the efforts by Minister Davutoglu referring to his cooperation with the UNHCR, as well as a high level meeting Davutoglu attended with the foreign ministers of surrounding countries.
"It was a very positive meeting and there were some commitments made, as keeping borders open, as the need for burden-sharing, measures to offset the pressure of the presence of refugees on communities and governments."
“I am very grateful to the Turkish government and Turkish people and I hope that the government will keep the border open, keep receiving refugees and we also from our side will try to mobilize support in the name of burden-sharing and do our part."
Awad said during his visits in Turkey he met with officials from MFA, AFAD, the new Directorate for Immigration, UN agencies and some NGOs.
He said that the main subject matter of these meetings was the response to Syrian refugees in Turkey.
He added that the parties discussed the competing priorities and the challenges that the refugees are facing, in addition to financial difficulties that confront the government as well as municipalities and governorates at the local level in terms of services and infrastructure, among other topics.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
