Dubai: As the European Union continued to contemplate its response to the refugee crisis in the face of opposition by some members to take in more refugees, a UN official yesterday defended the role of Gulf states in providing shelter and aid to millions of Syrians fleeing the violence in their country.
The European Parliament yesterday backed a plan of EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to spread out 160,000 refugees in Hungary, Greece and Italy across the other member states. EU ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting next Monday and several eastern EU nations have voiced their opposition to a mandatory spreading of refugees to their countries.
The proposed number is a fraction of the estimated 4 million Syrians who fled their country. The majority are being hosted by neighbouring countries in camps funded by donor countries, mainly Gulf states, according to a UN official.
Dr. Abdullah Al Matouq, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs, said Gulf countries are among the first nations to provide aid to Syrian refugees since the crisis began in 2011. Kuwait hosted three donor conferences which collected $7.7 billion for the refugees, he added. GCC states were the largest donors at the conference. “As special envoy for the UN, I am duty-bound to showcase the GCC’s efforts on the matter,” he told Kuwait News Agency.
In the UAE, government sources said in a statement carried by the AP that more than 100,000 Syrians have come to the UAE since 2011. There are nearly 250,000 Syrians living here. “We don’t treat the Syrians as refugees,” government sources told Gulf News yesterday. “We treat them as any other resident of the UAE — with the same rights.” Their residency procedures have been relaxed due to their humanitarian situation.
According to official figures, the UAE has donated $540 million to house Syria’s 4 million refugees living in camps. In January, the UAE pledged $100 million, and $44 million of that has already been disbursed.
