Syrian Arab Republic

On Wednesday, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag announced at an international conference in Brussels that the Netherlands will continue to provide support aimed at relieving the suffering of Syrians in Syria and its neighbouring countries and helping to maintain regional stability.

KEY FINDINGS

Due to a notable increase in conflict beginning on 18 February, coverage was lost in Kafr Batna, Duma and Arbin of Eastern Ghouta. The incomplete Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) cost from February was 427,829 SYP.

In the northwest, the median complete SMEB cost with 7.5% float increased by 7,438 SYP (+12%) to 68,664 SYP (145 USD) from 61,226 SYP in February. This was the steepest month-to-month increase and highest SMEB cost observed in the past year.

Brussels – 25 April 2018. As the ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’ conference concludes in Brussels, the Jordan INGO Forum (JIF) welcomes the renewed partnership between Jordan and the international community to ensure that thousands of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians do not fall further into poverty.

UN Refugee chief Filippo Grandi says support at the Brussels pledging conference for the world’s largest refugee crisis is ‘critical.’

By Andrej Mahecic in Brussels, Belgium | 25 April 2018

Delegates to a major EU and United Nations donor conference in Brussels today pledged some US$4.4 billion in 2018 to meet the deepening needs of Syrians displaced by more than seven years of war, as well as the main refugee hosting countries in the region.

Remarks delivered by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Yannick Glemarec at a parallel session during the EU-UN Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”, seeking to raise awareness on the added value of women's engagement in the economic recovery of the region. The side event took place on Wednesday, 25 April, at the Council of the European Union in Brussels.

Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2018

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Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Women’s engagement in the labour market is critical for recovery.

ANKARA, Turkey – When Rima’s* father passed away, her happiness and independence died as well, she says.

She was just 13 years old and living in Syria at the time. Her uncles took charge, imposing strict rules. They forced her to drop out of school at 14, and forbade her from leaving the home.

“It was like a house arrest,” she said.

In 2017, IOM continued to respond to the needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and affected communities across Syria through its operations from Damascus, Gaziantep and Amman. Over the course of the year, IOM provided assistance – in the form of Non-Food Items (NFIs), Shelter, Logistics, Coordination, Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCM), Early Recovery and Livelihoods, Protection and Health - to over 800,000 individuals in Syria.

By International Organization for Migration

Apr 25 2018 (IOM) - In Jordan’s Azraq Camp where over 45,000 Syrian refugees are seeking shelter from the conflict across the border, 14-year-old Abdallah is finishing the 8th grade at a school run by the Ministry of Education.

Abdallah, Future Footballer

Unlike some young teenagers, Abdallah likes going to school. He enjoys the way Jordanian teachers deliver their lessons and knows that the information he learns during class could be vital to his future.

Overall Findings

Ar-Raqqa governorate is located in northeast Syria. The Euphrates River flows through the governorate and into Al-Thawrah Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam providing electricity in Syria, although years of conflict have impacted the Dam and limited its ability to generate electricity. Only approximately a quarter of the communities assessed in Ar-Raqqa reported access to the network, with the majority relying on generators as their main source of electricity however, Marj Al-Zuhor community reported having no electricity source.

SG/SM/19008
25 APRIL 2018

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the conference titled “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, in Brussels today:

My warm greetings and gratitude to [European Union] High Representative [for Foreign Affairs Federica] Mogherini and all those gathered for this crucial conference in support of the future of Syria and the region.

We have a full UN team in Brussels ready to partner with you for this meaningful effort.

Bruxelles, 25/04/2018 - 11:40

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Excellencies, colleagues, dear friends,

The little girl in the video, Farah, is younger than the war in Syria. She cannot even remember what peace looks like; because she has never seen a country in peace. And yet her smile, her poetry I believe is contagious. Farah reminds us why we are here in Brussels today and we wanted to start our day with her words and with her smile.

(Brussels, 25 April 2018): The international community gathered at the second Brussels conference on Supporting the future of Syria and the region today confirmed US$4.4 billion in funding to support life-saving humanitarian aid as well as resilience and development activities to millions of affected people in Syria and the region this year.

New York, New York 25 April 2018

As delivered

Thank you, Mr. President,

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 25 April 2018 — The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) deployed to Damascus on 14 April 2018 to gather facts in connection with the reported use of chemical weapons in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic on 7 April 2018. Security arrangements for the team’s deployment to various locations in Douma were made by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) in liaison with the Syrian authorities and the Russian Military Police. Due to the security situation the team was only able to visit Douma on 21 April.

International Development Secretary's speech on education at the Syria conference in Brussels.

Thank you all and‎ I’d like to start by thanking our friends in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The progress we have made since the London Syria Conference in 2016 to ensure that every child in the region has access to quality education is a reason for hope even in the most trying of circumstances.

More than a million displaced Syrian children now have received access to some form of education since the start of the conflict eight years ago.

by Sara Hellmüller

With inclusion being promoted as a key principle to lasting peace, international mediation practitioners are looking at ways to engage local actors in peace processes. UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ recent report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace has highlighted the need for inclusivity in peacebuilding processes and objectives. An important dimension of inclusion is the participation of local actors in peace processes. Drawing on my research on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Syria, I found six aspects worth considering.

Overall Findings

This update provides a summary of recent displacement, along with developments from the UNHCR co-led Sector/Clusters of Protection, Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) and Shelter/Non Food Items (SNFI).

KEY DISPLACEMENT STATISTICS (AS OF 17 APRIL 2018)