(MENAFN- Arab Times) KUWAIT CITY March 16 (Agencies): As many as 78 nations and 40 international organisations will attend the third donors conference aimed at raising billions of dollars for wartorn Syria host country Kuwait said Monday.
The March 31 gathering at foreign ministers level will be opened by Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a foreign ministry official told the KUNA news agency. Nations are expected to announce pledges for UN humanitarian operations in Syria where 12 million people both inside and outside the country need urgent aid. At the first and second conferences also hosted by Kuwait pledges of $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion were made but the United Nations has complained that not all pledges were honoured.
Ahead of the conference international non-governmental organisations are due to meet to make their own pledges. Ban urged the Security Council on Thursday to overcome divisions and take action to end the war in Syria as the conflict entered its fifth year with little prospect for peace. His appeal followed scathing criticism from 21 human rights and aid groups who accused world powers of 'failing Syria' in a report that highlighted the worsening plight of civilians.
Last year was the war's deadliest yet with at least 76000 people killed out of a toll of more than 215000 since it erupted on March 15 2011 with peaceful demonstrations inspired by the Arab Spring in Tunisia. Around four million Syrians have fled abroad and 7.6 million are displaced inside the country as Assad's forces battle opposition rebels and extremists from the Islamic State group.
Meanwhile in Brussels the EU Foreign Affairs Council Monday called on all international partners to 'put forward a substantial pledge in Kuwait' and underlined EU commitment to substantial pledges. 'Ahead of the third international humanitarian pledging conference for Syria in Kuwait on March 31 the Council reiterates the commitment by Member States to put forward alongside the financial package of the European Commission substantial pledges of new humanitarian and development funding that reflect the scale and protracted nature of the crisis' said the Council which is meeting there today in a statement. 'The Council further calls on all international partners to also put forward a substantial pledge in Kuwait and in the longer term to enhance also the level and the predictability of their respective support to the people affected by the Syria crisis in the region' it said. It stated that the EU and its member states are the largest contributor to the international response to the Syria crisis having mobilised so far more than 3.2 billion euro for relief and recovery assistance to those affected by the conflict inside Syria and refugees and host communities in neighbouring Lebanon Jordan Iraq and Turkey.
Strategy
Meanwhile the Council adopted the EU regional strategy for Syria and Iraq as well as the ISIL threat. It underlined that the 'fight against ISIL and other terrorist groups must be conducted in parallel with the search for lasting political solutions. ISIL has committed barbaric acts against the peoples of Syria and Iraq. It poses a clear threat to our partners in the Middle East a threat to wider international security and to Europe directly.' The statement noted that 'the Assad regime's brutal war against its own people massive human rights violations and systematic obstruction against democratic reforms have heavily contributed to the flourishing of ISIL in Syria. As a consequence of its policies and actions the Assad regime cannot be a partner in the fight against ISIL'.
The EU it said will continue its policy of imposing additional sanctions targeting the Syrian regime and its supporters and reiterated its call to the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. The EU expressed its support to efforts by the Global Coalition to counter ISIL including military action in accordance with international law. It recalled that military action in this context is necessary but not sufficient to defeat ISIL.
Condemned
It strongly condemned ISIL/DAESH's deliberate destruction of archaeological and cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq noting that such actions may amount to a war crime according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It called on all states to comply with UN Security Council resolutions 2161 and 2199 to ensure that no funds other financial assets or economic resources are made available directly or indirectly by their nationals or by persons within their territory for the benefit of ISIL al-Qaeda and affiliated groups.
The EU remains committed to achieving lasting peace stability and security in Syria Iraq and the wider region as well as to countering the ISIL threat it said and called for an inclusive political transition in Syria and inclusive political governance in Iraq as crucial to sustainable peace and stability in the region.
The EU urged all international actors in particular the countries in the region to play a constructive role in addressing the crises as their engagement is necessary in order to achieve regional and international stability and to find durable solutions. Meanwhile in Beirut officials involved in providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Lebanon have said Kuwait's hosting of the 3rd donors' conference for Syrian people was a 'new hope' for millions of displaced Syrians.
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