BEIRUT: Wealthy nations have only taken in a "pitiful" number of the millions of refugees uprooted by Syria's war, placing the burden on the country's ill-equipped neighbours, Amnesty International said Friday (Dec 5).
In a statement ahead of a Dec 9 donors' conference in Geneva, the London-based rights group blasted as shocking the failure of rich nations to host more refugees.
"Around 3.8 million refugees from Syria are being hosted in five main countries within the region: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt," said Amnesty. "Only 1.7 per cent of this number have been offered sanctuary by the rest of the world."
"The shortfall... is truly shocking," said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty's head of refugee and migrants' rights. "The complete absence of resettlement pledges from the Gulf is particularly shameful," he added. "Linguistic and religious ties should place the Gulf states at the forefront of those offering safe shelter."
The group said the failure of wealthy nations to share the burden had placed enormous strain on Syria's neighbours, which were largely ill-equipped to deal with the pressure. Amnesty said it was calling for the resettlement of five percent of Syria's refugees by the end of 2015, and another five percent the following year.
That would accommodate all of the approximately 380,000 refugees identified for resettlement by the UN because of particular vulnerabilities, including lone children and torture survivors. "Countries cannot ease their consciences with cash pay-outs then simply wash their hands of the matter," Elsayed-Ali said. "Those with the economic means to do so must play a greater role."
In a statement ahead of a Dec 9 donors' conference in Geneva, the London-based rights group blasted as shocking the failure of rich nations to host more refugees.
"Around 3.8 million refugees from Syria are being hosted in five main countries within the region: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt," said Amnesty. "Only 1.7 per cent of this number have been offered sanctuary by the rest of the world."
- Highlighting what it called "the pitiful numbers of resettlement places offered by the international community," Amnesty noted that the Gulf states, Russia and China had not offered a single resettlement place. And excluding Germany, the European Union as a whole has pledged to take in only 0.17 per cent of the refugees now housed in the main host countries around Syria.
"The shortfall... is truly shocking," said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty's head of refugee and migrants' rights. "The complete absence of resettlement pledges from the Gulf is particularly shameful," he added. "Linguistic and religious ties should place the Gulf states at the forefront of those offering safe shelter."
The group said the failure of wealthy nations to share the burden had placed enormous strain on Syria's neighbours, which were largely ill-equipped to deal with the pressure. Amnesty said it was calling for the resettlement of five percent of Syria's refugees by the end of 2015, and another five percent the following year.
That would accommodate all of the approximately 380,000 refugees identified for resettlement by the UN because of particular vulnerabilities, including lone children and torture survivors. "Countries cannot ease their consciences with cash pay-outs then simply wash their hands of the matter," Elsayed-Ali said. "Those with the economic means to do so must play a greater role."
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Syria's conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government demonstrations, but has spiralled into a bloody civil war that has displaced around half the country's population. In addition to those who fled the war-ravaged country to become refugees, the United Nations says more than seven million Syrians are internally displaced. The refugees face poverty, illness and growing tensions with host communities in their already-impoverished temporary homes.
- AFP/rw
[channelnewsasia.com]
5/12/14
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Syrie: les pays riches n'accueillent qu'un nombre "dérisoire" de réfugiés...
ReplyDeleteLes pays riches n'ont accueilli qu'un nombre "dérisoire" de réfugiés syriens déplacés par la guerre, laissant la lourde charge aux pays voisins de la Syrie qui manquent de moyens, dénonce vendredi Amnesty International à moins d'une semaine d'une conférence de donateurs à Genève prévue le 9 décembre.
L'organisation de défense des droits de l'Homme se dit "choquée" par le refus des pays riches d'accueillir plus de réfugiés. "Près de 3,8 millions de réfugiés de Syrie sont accueillis principalement par cinq pays de la région: la Turquie, le Liban, la Jordanie, l'Irak et l'Egypte", souligne Amnesty. "Seul 1,7% de ce total a pu bénéficier d'un asile dans le reste du monde".
L'ONG souligne que les Etats du Golfe, la Russie et la Chine n'ont proposé aucune place de réinstallation. A l'exception de l'Allemagne, l'ensemble de l'Union européenne ne s'est engagé à réinstaller pas plus de 0,17% des réfugiés se trouvant dans les cinq pays d'accueil voisins de la Syrie. "Ce déséquilibre (...) est vraiment choquant", dénonce Sherif Elsayed-Ali, le chef de la section des réfugiés et des migrants au sein d' Amnesty........................http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_syrie-les-pays-riches-n-accueillent-qu-un-nombre-derisoire-de-refugies?id=8514282
5/12/14
270,000 Syrians permanently disabled by conflict: Report ...
ReplyDeleteThe Syrian war has left around 270,000 Syrians permanently disabled, according to a report released by the Syrian National Coalition on Wednesday.
The report, entitled ‘Syrians With Disabilities: A Life Twice As Bitter’, also stated that the number of injured Syrians has reached 1.5 million since the beginning of hostilities in 2011. There are concerns that this number will continue to increase given the emergence of the radical Islamic State grouping and the air strikes by the US-led coalition on IS targets.
The conflict began in 2011 when opponents of the Assad regime started protesting against the government, and the regime began to crackdown brutally on dissent. Opposition groups took up arms in response.
The death toll has reached 200,000 in less than four years, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates around 9 million Syrians have fled their homes since March 2011. Around 3 million have fled to Syria's neighbours Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, while 6.5 million are displaced within Syria.
Prior to the war, disabled Syrians were marginalised, the report stated, but there were some limited services available from local organisations. The availability of services has decreased since the outbreak of violence, as numbers of those disabled, including children, has increased.
Although the UNHCR and its partners provide special services to the refugees with disabilities, the Syrian National Coalition report states that more support is needed......................http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/117214/World/Region/,-Syrians-permanently-disabled-by-conflict-Report.aspx
5/12/14