Khalifa donates $10m to UN agency to help Iraqis

Riyadh: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has donated $10 million (Dh36.7 million) in support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) operations in assisting Iraqi refugees in Syria.

The donation was announced yesterday by Ahmad Gubartalla, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Gulf region.

He said the agency is pleased to announce the donation, which will help ease the suffering of Iraqi refugees and alleviate some of the burden being shouldered by host countries such as Syria.

In a press statement released by UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva yesterday, the agency expressed gratitude to the President and the people of the UAE for this timely contribution, being evidence of an enhanced humanitarian partnership and solidarity.

Gubartalla said Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner of the agency, will send a message of thanks and appreciation to Shaikh Khalifa in recognition of this donation.

UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis said 60,000 Iraqis continue to flee their homes every month, with 2.2 million people now uprooted within Iraq and 2.2 million in neighbouring countries. Syria is host to more than 1.4 million Iraqis.

Strain

On Monday, the agency said that Syria had reimposed rules barring entry to Iraqi refugees.

Pagonis said it would mean that they "lose their only remaining safe haven", but the agency was discussing the issue with authorities in Damascus and had not received any formal notification.

"The Iraqis in Syria now constitute about 10 per cent of the total population and put an enormous strain on the country," she told a news briefing in announcing the $10 million donation.

She said it was "unusual" for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to receive a donation of that size for a single programme, and it was the largest gift from the UAE in 10 years.

The agency has been appealing widely for support for countries hosting Iraqis.

An estimated 19,800 Iraqis applied for asylum in North America, Europe and Australia in the first six months of 2007.