UN warns of humanitarian catastrophe among Syrian refugees

Some nine million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes because of the violent conflict over the past three years placing them on the top of the world’s list of forcibly displaced people, The United Nations warned.

“It is unconscionable that a humanitarian catastrophe of this scale is unfolding before our eyes with no meaningful progress to stop the bloodshed,” the head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said.

There are currently more than 2.5 million Syrians registered or waiting to register as refugees in neighbouring countries and the number is expected to exceed the number of Afghan refugees as the world’s largest group of displaced people. Moreover, there are more than 6.5 million people who fled their homes to live as refugees within Syria.

According to Guterres more than 40 per cent of the country’s population have fled their country; at least half of them are children.

Guterres said in a statement: “No effort should be spared to forge peace. And no effort spared to ease the suffering of the innocent people caught up in the conflict and forced from their homes, communities, jobs and schools.”

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the conflict, which started with a government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in March 2011, has claimed the lives of 140,000 people so far.

The implications of the dispute have been disastrous for the entire region. In Lebanon, the number of Syrian refugees has reached nearly a million and could reach 1.6 million by the end of the year.

The UN Commission said that “Lebanon already has the highest per capita concentration of refugees of any country in recent history”. The Commission estimates that Syrian refugees amount to nearly 20 per cent of Lebanon’s total population. This is similar to having 19 million refugees in Germany or 73 million in the United States, Guterres explained.

According to the UN’s statistics the total number of displaced Syrian refugees has reached nearly 584,000 refugees living in Jordan, 634,000 living in Turkey and 226,000 living in Iraq.

Guterres said: “Imagine the crushing social and economic consequences of this crisis on Lebanon and other countries in the region,” calling for greater international support.

Guterres who warned about the growing risks faced by refugees who are being smuggled into Europe; “with the exception of Turkey; only four per cent of Syrian refugees have arrived in Europe.

“What kind of a world is this where Syrians fleeing this violent conflict have to risk their lives to reach safety and, when they finally make it; they are not welcomed or even turned away at borders?” Guterres asked.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees called on Europe, North America and Asian Pacific countries to receive at least 30,000 Syrian refugees this year and 100,000 more in 2015 and 2016.