A Special Meeting To Help Syrians

Today I was lucky enough to be at a meeting hosted by the League of Arab States, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and The Humanitarian Forum, the meeting to coordinate aid delivery to the Syrian people was attended by representatives of Turkey’s IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), Red Crescent and Red Cross organizations, various NGOs and Syrian representatives. Representatives of the organizing bodies and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi delivered speeches at the opening session. Al-Arabi summarized the efforts of the Arab League, both within the organization and on the international arena, to resolve the ongoing crisis in Syria and ensure the safety of the people. The opening speeches were followed by presentations about the situation and needs of the affected people inside Syria and refugees in neighboring countries. İzzet Şahin, IHH International Affairs Coordinator, also made a presentation on the situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey. “Basic needs of refugees arriving in Turkey are met by the Red Crescent and IHH; however, the real problem is inside Syria borders. IHH is ready to deliver humanitarian assistance to the affected people in Syria through a humanitarian aid corridor.”

A number of workshops were held about delivering relief to the Syrian people, principles of relief aid, health and food aid.

A number of recommendations were issued to decision-making bodies and international NGOs. The meeting recommended:

Neighboring countries to facilitate the access and delivery of aid to affected people in Syria and outside.

Humanitarian agencies to attend to the psychological support of conflict victims.

Utilise all available opportunities to allow delivery of humanitarian relief.
Cooperate with Syria-based registered, transparent NGOs for delivering aid.
Promote collaboration between humanitarian agencies in the field and border areas.
Assess and address the need of people for food items in Syria.

Humanitarian stakeholders need to improve their coordination mechanisms and partnership with private sector, civil society organisations and government agencies.

Ensure safety of humanitarian workers wherever they are stationed.
Mobilise the role of League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation as leading humanitarian coordination bodies in the region.

The total number of registered refugees and individuals awaiting registration is 671,262 as of 21 January. This includes 5,417 Syrian refugees registered in North Africa. The number registered in Turkey as of 22 January is 156,801 in 16 camps with another camp about to be built. "We will continue to have a policy of open door and we will never close our borders," pledged Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

  In tomorrows meeting I will be rasing my point, I hope people will be listening!

I'll let you know how I get on in tomorrows post.