IICO chairman and Advisor at the Amiri Diwan Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq
KUWAIT [ ABN NEWS ] — At the behest of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the International Islamic Charity Organization (IICO) will organize the third conference of non-government organizations for the Syrian people.
The conference will take place on March 30, one day ahead of the Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, IICO chairman and Advisor at the Amiri Diwan Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq told reporters on Tuesday.
Dr. Al-Maatouq, also UN special representative for Humanitarian Affairs, voiced joy for the trust placed by His Highness the Amir in the IICO which had the honor of hosting the conference for the third time.
“His Highness the Amir’s instructions for the IICO to organize the event reflect his belief in the importance of the role of the NGOs in backing up the government relief effort,” he said.
He extolled His Highness the Amir for responding to the UN request for Kuwait to host the Third Pledging Conference with a view to raising the funds for the implementation of the 2015 Syria Response Plan and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2015-16.
“The timely response of the State of Kuwait to the suffering of the Syrian people adds a new bright page to the country’s humanitarian record and testifies to the country’s keenness on working with regional and international partners for meeting the basic needs of the Syrian people,” he pointed out.
Dr. Al-Maatouq affirmed that the IICO and partners working under the umbrella of the Kuwaiti higher relief committee are arranging for hosting the international NGO donor conference which will discuss the various aspects of the humanitarian disaster in Syria as well as the situations in the refugee camps in neighboring countries and the activities of the aid agencies.
As part of the arrangements for the gathering, the IICO sent invitations to more than 100 aid agencies and 140 charitable figures, he went on.
“Since it broke out in 2011, the Syrian conflict has left more than 220,000 people dead, 1.5 million injured and 20,000 missing.
“As the conflict entered its fifth year with no political solution in sight, nearly half of the Syrian people (or 12.2 million) were rendered homeless; they remain in dire need of assistance from all local, regional and international aid agencies.
“The figure includes 3.8 million people who fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, and 7.6 million internally-displaced people, making this the largest displacement crisis in the world,” Dr. Al-Maatouq said, citing UN estimates.
The NGO donors spent more than their pledges in the last two conferences, he said noting that such pledges in the first conference stood USD 183 million while the actual relief effort cost USD 190 million.
“In the second conference these NGO pledged USD 276 million while the actual cost topped USD 348 million and we hope for more generous pledges in the coming conference,” he noted, adding that the IICO relief effort for the Syrians cost USD 37 million.
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