OIC Chief Urges Global Community to Provide Urgent Humanitarian Aid to Syrian Refugees

Jeddah, MINA – Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen urged the international community to exert more efforts to provide urgent humanitarian assistance for the Syrian internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, and thus bridge the funding gap for Syrian humanitarian needs, UNA reported.

In his address to the third Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region held in Brussels on March 13-14, Al-Othaimeen stated that the Syrian crisis, which entered its eighth year, has triggered one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. He added that the crisis claimed the lives of about half a million people since March 2011, and left 13 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including 8 million children. It also led to the displacement of over 11 million people in terrible conditions.

In the same vein, the secretary general commended the OIC member states that have borne the burden of hosting Syrian refugees and other countries that contributed to alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people by making generous financial contributions, particularly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Al-Othaimeen said that the OIC reaffirms the importance of supporting the Geneva process in order to reach a political solution that would contribute to building a new Syrian state based on a democratic, pluralistic civil system, established on the principles of respect for human rights and the rule of law.

The OIC chief expressed the hope that the outcome of the Brussels conference would unify the efforts of the international community in a practical and effective way towards alleviating the impact of the Syrian crisis by contributing to the political peace process led by the United Nations.(R/R04/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)