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FM calls for global action in shouldering care for refugees

‘Donor countries fatigue is not an option’

By JT - Dec 17,2019 - Last updated at Dec 17,2019

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi speaks at the Global Refugee Forum’s plenary session’s open debate titled 'Burden and Responsibility Sharing' in Geneva on Tuesday (Photo courtesy of Foreign Ministry)

AMMAN — Refugee crises are a global challenge that can only be resolved with global action, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Global Refugee Forum’s plenary session’s open debate titled “Burden and Responsibility Sharing”, the foreign minister said that the “ultimate answer to refugees’ plight is the resolution of the vicious wars and conflicts", according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

“Refugees are real people. They are not abstract numbers. They are people with needs. They are people with the right to live in dignity, with opportunity, and with hope,” the minister said.

Until refugees are able to go back to their homes, it is a collective responsibility to provide refugees with dignified lives, Safadi said.

Touching on burden placed on host countries, the minister noted that Jordan is the largest per capita host of refugees, adding that host countries cannot carry this burden alone.

“Donor countries fatigue is not an option. Host country fatigue is what the international community must prevent by ensuring continuous and sufficient commitment to helping them support their refugee communities,” Safadi said.

He highlighted that Jordan hosts 13 per cent of the global refugee population and has been at the “receiving end” of every crisis in the region, pointing out that people from 57 countries have sought refuge in the Kingdom.

“Despite the challenges, despite extremely difficult economic conditions Jordanians take pride in doing everything they can to help. We do this because this is who Jordanians are, these are our values… these are our traditions,” the foreign minister said. 

“Investing in refugees is investing in our collective security and in our collective future,” he said.

This investment can contribute to the building of a better future in host countries, and their countries of origin when they return, he continued.

The minister stressed that abandoning refugees will “sow the seeds of a worse future” for all.

“Despair and ignorance are the best allies of extremism and radicalism. Radicalism and extremism are threats to our collective security. Knowledge, hope and life in dignity provide the strongest immunity against them,” Safadi said.

Urging international support Safadi noted that Jordan hosts 1.3 million Syrians, only 10 per cent of which live in refugee camps. 

“Over 130,000 Syrian students are enrolled in our public schooling system. As a result, some of our schools are operating double shifts,” he said.

Jordan’s economy can create 30,000-40,000 jobs a year. However, Jordan has issued over 160,000 work permits to Syrian refugees. “That is more than four times the number of jobs we can create annually, at a time when unemployment is over 19 per cent,” the minister said.

Calling attention to the Palestinian cause, the minister noted that the injustice Palestinian refugees have been subjected to is a stark reminder of the inhuman nature and cruelty of occupation.

The Palestinian refugees issue is a final status issue that must be resolved on the basis of international law, guaranteeing the right to compensation and return, and within a comprehensive solution that ends the occupation that began in 1967, he stressed

The minister expressed his gratitude for the international community’s show of support for renewing the UNRWA mandate at the recent UN General Assembly vote.

“This was a vote for justice, for the right of people to live in dignity, for the right of 560,000 boys and girls to have a classroom,” Safadi said. 

“We thank all 169 countries that stood for what is right. We thank all our friends and partners who continue to support UNRWA,” he added.

The minister expressed the Kingdom’s gratitude to the UN and all its agencies for their partnership and support in shouldering the refugee crisis in Jordan.

“Let us make the principle of international responsibility sharing a reality.”

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