Humanitarian matters should be separate from any other issues, Abdullah Al Rabeeah, the Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), said, commenting on the impact of the sanctions against Syria on the earthquake response in the country.
When asked whether the sanctions against Syria have been challenging the work of his relief center in Syria, Al Rabeeah told reporters, "I believe in general that when there is a disaster … we should split a humanitarian from any other motive." He said that the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre has been working with the Red Crescent in Syria and has not faced any restrictions.
"We have seen good response," Al Rabeeah told reporters.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said earlier this month that sanctions should not interfere with humanitarian assistance to the Syrians. On February 9, the US Treasury also issued a general license, which authorized for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited due to sanctions.
Parts of Turkey and Syria were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks on February 6. According to the Syrian Health Ministry, the final death toll from the earthquake stands at over 1,400 people, while at least 2,357 others were injured.
However, this data covers only government-controlled territories. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has estimated the number of deaths in northwest Syria, which is not controlled by Damascus, stands at 5,000.
Dozens of NGOs From 50 States, UN Officials Arrive in Riyadh to Discuss Humanitarian Gaps
Some 60 organizations from about 50 countries as well as UN representatives have arrived in Riyadh for a humanitarian conference where numerous agreements are expected to be signed and important announcements to be made, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center Supervisor-General Abdullah Al Rabeeah said on Sunday.
"We hope that we will concentrate on the gaps that exist in the humanitarian field," Al Rabeeah said ahead of the event.
Al Rabeeah also said that the forum served as a platform where the participants would not only talk, but will try to make change in the ground.
"There will be a lot of announcements… lots of also side agreements and projects that will be signed at the forum," the supervisor-general added.
The two-day 3rd Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum will kick off on Monday with the speeches of UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Filippo Grandi High Commissioner for Refugees among others who will speak about the evolving humanitarian landscape for 2023 and beyond. The forum is taking place amid numerous conflicts around the world and in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Other topics for discussions will include conflict, forced displacement, risks exploitation as well as strengthening local community resilience, the impact of pandemics in conflict and anticipating crises and taking early action in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, among others.
SAUDI RESPONSE TO EARTHQUAKE
Al Rabeeah pointed out that besides the immediate the response from the government, there was also a public involvement aimed at helping those affected by the disaster.
"There was a fundraising project, and I just heard that it has passed $120 million, this is from the public," he noted.
Al Rabeeah went on to say that to date there have been some 14 airplanes sent by Riyadh to the affected areas in Turkey and Syria.
"We decided to reach Syria from the north and also from Aleppo," he said. The supervisor-general also said that they had revived the support from ten local governments, humanitarian partners and the NGOs and that Saudi Arabia Glauber sent verified rescue teams, first responder and medical emergency teams.
Moreover, Al Rabeeah added that they have been sending a lot of tents, but noted that they were good only for short term.
"We have identified a contractor that will help us with rapid, we call them transit homes. 3,000 units will be built quickly," he said. He added that they were discussing to have half of those in Turkey and half in Syria.
Al Rabeeah also shared that at the moment they had about 3,000 volunteers on the ground and expected to have up to 10,000, including medical personnel.
He noted that now the emotional and chaotic response was improving on the ground, moving to science-based, and that there was more coordination. Parts of Turkey and Syria were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks on February 6. More than 41,000 people died and 108,000 others were injured in the earthquakes that rocked southern Turkey. Over 2,000 people died in neighboring Syria and hundreds of thousands have been displaced across the region.
SAUDI ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE
Al Rabeeah noted that the center has been supporting the Ukrainian refugees in Poland and other countries. "Our work is humanitarian and not linked to any political or religious motives," Al Rabeeah said.
He also said that they were working with their humanitarian partners who identified the needs for the refugees, including food, water, medical supplies, and shelters, among others.
The United Nations' agencies for humanitarian and refugee affairs appealed on Wednesday for $5 billion in humanitarian aid to help more than 15 million of Ukrainians affected by the conflict.
According to the statement, $3.9 billion out of this sum is requested under the Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine to provide 11.1 million people with food and medicines.
The remainder in the amount of $1.7 billion will be used to help 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees hosted in 10 countries – Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia – under the Refugee Response Plan, the statement added.
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