US, Gulf Arab pledge $1 bn aid to Syria

KUWAIT: Donors including the United States and wealthy Gulf Arab countries pledged $1 billion on Wednesday for UN humanitarian efforts in Syria, devastated by almost three years of civil war.
Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, promised $500 million in fresh assistance, while the United States announced a contribution of $380 million. Qatar and Saudi Arabia pledged $60 million each.
The promises were announced at an international donor conference in Kuwait intended to help the United Nations reach a $6.5 billion aid target for the crisis in 2014.
The appeal launched last month is the largest in the history of the United Nations, which estimates that the conflict has rolled back human development gains in Syria by 35 years, with half the population now living in poverty.
“The flames of the humanitarian crisis in Syria are still going on … destroying all signs of life,” Sheikh Sabah said, describing the conflict as a catastrophe.
The $1.5 billion pledged via the United Nations at a similar meeting last year in Kuwait was used in Syria and surrounding countries to provide food rations, medicine, drinking water and shelters. The largest donations at that conference came from Gulf Arab governments.
Overall, only 70 per cent of all of the crisis funding needed for Syria in 2013 has been received by the United Nations, according to the body’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS).
“Even under the best circumstances, the fighting has set back Syria years, even decades,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is chairing the Kuwait conference.
Ban has previously expressed regret that not all the promised donations have been received from the last meeting, with 20-30 per cent still lacking.
Ban told the gathering on Wednesday he hoped peace talks due to be held in Switzerland on January 22 would bring the Syrian government and opposition to the negotiating table.
“I hope this will launch a political process to establish a transitional governing body with a full executive powers, and most importantly, end the violence,” he said.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday that it had delivered rations to a record 3.8 million people in Syria in December, but civilians in eastern provinces and besieged towns near the capital remain out of reach. (Reuters)