Record number of Syrian refugees registered — UN
Record number of Syrian refugees registered — UN
The Jordan Times, 25 Apr 2012
URL: http://jordantimes.com/Record+number+of+Syrian+refugees+registered+%E2%80%94+UN++-47359
AMMAN — The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Jordan on Tuesday reported that over 6,000 Syrians registered with the agency over the last month, doubling the total number of Syrians registered as refugees.
In a statement issued yesterday, the agency said the total number of registered refugees has exceeded 12,000, a figure officials expect to reach 15,000 by the end of the month.
Between March 2011 and the end of February 2012, the UNHCR registered 4,600 Syrian refugees.
The UN agency acknowledges that the number of registrations is unrepresentative of the total number of Syrians in need in Jordan, which relief agencies place at around 30,000.
The rise in new registrations comes amid a “dramatic” influx of Syrians fleeing to the Kingdom dating back to the announcement of a UN-brokered ceasefire earlier this month, with various relief agencies reporting some 500 new arrivals a day.
Meanwhile, the UN agency reported that it is facing a funding shortfall, securing less than one-fifth of an $84 million aid appeal launched last month to support countries hosting Syrian refugees.
In its statement, UNHCR Jordan said that donor countries have pledged a total of $15.6 million for its so-called Syria Regional Response Plan, less than 20 per cent of a March 23 aid appeal that reserved $40 million to support services in Jordan.
In previous statements to The Jordan Times, UNHCR Representative Andrew Harper indicated that the agency is already revising its aid appeal to secure additional funds due to the rising number of Syrians fleeing to Jordan, which according to officials has surpassed 110,000.
Local charitable organisations, which have carried the brunt of the financial and logistical burden since the influx of Syrians into Jordan one year ago, also report a funding shortfall, intimating an inability to sustain their services “beyond the next three months” .
The Islamic Charity Centre Society, one of the largest NGOs providing services to Syrian refugees, says it is cutting back on its rent assistance and medical care programmes in order to meet the more basic needs of the growing number of new registrations, which it claims have surpassed 200 Syrians a day. Jordan follows an open-border policy, providing refuge to all Syrians who cross into the country, legally or illegally.
Photo: Copyright Bartolini/UNHCR 2012
In a statement issued yesterday, the agency said the total number of registered refugees has exceeded 12,000, a figure officials expect to reach 15,000 by the end of the month.
Between March 2011 and the end of February 2012, the UNHCR registered 4,600 Syrian refugees.
The UN agency acknowledges that the number of registrations is unrepresentative of the total number of Syrians in need in Jordan, which relief agencies place at around 30,000.
The rise in new registrations comes amid a “dramatic” influx of Syrians fleeing to the Kingdom dating back to the announcement of a UN-brokered ceasefire earlier this month, with various relief agencies reporting some 500 new arrivals a day.
Meanwhile, the UN agency reported that it is facing a funding shortfall, securing less than one-fifth of an $84 million aid appeal launched last month to support countries hosting Syrian refugees.
In its statement, UNHCR Jordan said that donor countries have pledged a total of $15.6 million for its so-called Syria Regional Response Plan, less than 20 per cent of a March 23 aid appeal that reserved $40 million to support services in Jordan.
In previous statements to The Jordan Times, UNHCR Representative Andrew Harper indicated that the agency is already revising its aid appeal to secure additional funds due to the rising number of Syrians fleeing to Jordan, which according to officials has surpassed 110,000.
Local charitable organisations, which have carried the brunt of the financial and logistical burden since the influx of Syrians into Jordan one year ago, also report a funding shortfall, intimating an inability to sustain their services “beyond the next three months” .
The Islamic Charity Centre Society, one of the largest NGOs providing services to Syrian refugees, says it is cutting back on its rent assistance and medical care programmes in order to meet the more basic needs of the growing number of new registrations, which it claims have surpassed 200 Syrians a day. Jordan follows an open-border policy, providing refuge to all Syrians who cross into the country, legally or illegally.
Photo: Copyright Bartolini/UNHCR 2012