Historical archive

Norway offers to host an international donor conference for Syrian refugees

Historical archive

Published under: Solberg's Government

Publisher: The Office of the Prime Minister

‘‘The conflict in Syria has created the largest refugee crisis in our time. The international community must step up its efforts to help refugees and civilians in need in Syria and the neighbouring countries. Finance Minister Siv Jensen and I agree that Norway should take an initiative vis-à-vis the UN. I have therefore written to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today, offering to host a donor conference for the Syrian crisis in Norway,’ said Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

There are nearly 8 million displaced people in Syria. At the same time, Syria’s neighbouring countries have received more than 4 million refugees. Securing adequate facilities for refugees in areas closes to Syria requires considerable resources. Only 37 % of the funding the UN has appealed for to provide emergency relief for Syria has been provided.

‘We now need to make an extraordinary international effort. Through this initiative, we hope to mobilise more funding to support the Syrian refugees and the host communities in the neighbouring countries, as well as enhancing humanitarian efforts within Syria,’ Minister of Finance Siv Jensen said.