Read the Co-Chairs Statement on the Financial Tracking Report

23 September 2019

"Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region" Post-Brussels III Conference financial tracking report – co-chairs' statement

1. At the Third Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region" hosted by the European Union (EU) in Brussels on 12-14 March 2019, the international community and the governments of refugee hosting countries came together to reaffirm their commitment to support the millions of civilians affected by the conflict inside Syria as well as the refugees and the countries and communities generously hosting them. 2. The international community pledged USD 7 billion (EUR 6.2 billion) in funding to support humanitarian, stabilisation and development activities in 2019 in Syria and the region, and a further USD 2.4 billion (EUR 2.1 billion) for 2020 and beyond. International financial institutions and donors also announced USD 21 billion (EUR 18.5 billion) in loans for 2019 and beyond. The EU, on behalf of the Brussels III Conference co-chairs, has today published a report on progress against these pledges.

Financial tracking report findings 3. The report published today finds that, as of end of July 2019:  For 2019, donors have already contributed 92% (USD 6.4 billion) of the pledges made to provide funding in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.  For the period 2020 and beyond, 32% of the pledges announced (USD 752 million) are already available.  Of the USD 21 billion worth of loans pledged for 2019 and beyond, USD 14.8 billion (71%) have been made available in refugee-hosting countries. 4. Six months after the conference, 14 of the 41 donors have fully delivered or exceeded the amounts pledged. Several donors are still to deliver on their full pledge or to make information on their contributions available. 5. Despite good progress against pledges made, the humanitarian response outlined in the 2019 UN-coordinated interagency response plans for Syria and the region are seriously underfunded at less than 30% on average1. Therefore, humanitarian needs inside Syria and in the region covered by these appeals are not being adequately met.

Co-chairs urge all donors to deliver on their commitments for 2019 and step up their efforts to continue delivering life-saving and resilience support in the region. 6. This tracking mechanism focuses exclusively on tracking the pledges made by donors at the March 2019 Brussels III Conference and does not include funding from all donors to the crisis. It is a tool to inform on funding spent in the region and to ensure donor accountability in delivering against pledges.

1 According to information from the UN OCHA Financial Tracking System (FTS) and UNHCR.

Progress against Brussels Conferences policy commitments 7. Inside Syria, the overall scale and complexity of humanitarian needs of people remain staggering in their magnitude and severity. Amidst an intensification of hostilities in several locations, notably in North West Syria (NWS), the first seven months of the year witnessed more than 950,000 population movements. At the same time, some 6.2 million people, including 2.6 million children, remain internally displaced. Against the backdrop of relative stability in certain areas of the country, some 1.7 million people spontaneously returned to their communities of origin since 2018, the majority of whom were internally displaced persons (IDPs). 11.1 million Syrians (80 percent of the population in the country) remain in need of assistance and protection.

On livelihoods, the availability of food in Syria has also been hugely impacted by the crisis, as well as the drought. Syrian families struggle to make ends meet, and access to food remains a persistent concern in view of inflationary trends, high production costs, the continuous depreciation of the Syrian Pound, protracted displacement and the sustained erosion of communities’ resilience after almost nine years of conflict. The whole population is in need of health assistance. Needs are particularly acute in NWS, North East Syria and South West Syria where IDPs live in deplorable conditions. Countrywide, half of Syria’s public hospitals and health care centres are either closed or only partially functioning.2Regarding education, 2 million children are out-of-school and 1.3 million are at risk of dropping out. Two in five schools in Syria has been damaged or destroyed.3

The co-chairs are deeply alarmed by violations of IHL and human rights law, including indiscriminate attacks on health staff and health facilities in NWS, and sexual and gender- based violence perpetrated by all parties to the conflict. All necessary measures must be taken to protect civilian lives, including those of humanitarian workers, and to ensure safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access through the most direct routes, including to areas that have changed control.

Looking ahead, the co-chairs remain deeply concerned about the safety and protection of some three million people in the last remaining de-escalation zone of Idleb. Of these, 2.1 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, including one million children. Close to half of this population —1.4 million— are IDPs, having already fled violence at least once.

8. Neighbouring countries continue to show extraordinary generosity in hosting more than 5.6 million Syrian refugees. At the Brussels III Conference, donors and refugee-hosting countries reaffirmed their commitment to providing services, protection and assistance to refugees, as well as to taking forward longer-term reform efforts for the benefit of hosting communities and refugees. Co-chairs agreed with the Governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to keep supporting the necessary reforms to boost economic growth and job creation, to continue expanding education opportunities for Syrian refugees and their host communities, as well as to sustain protection efforts. Some progress has been made in these three countries on delivering on the commitments taken in past conferences in London and Brussels, amidst growing tensions and challenges for host countries to cover refugees needs. Additional efforts will need to be made by donors and host countries to meet the ambitious jobs and education targets established at the 2016 London Conference.

9. Jordan has placed inclusive economic growth at the centre of its political and policy priorities. The Nahda/Renaissance plan, coupled with the five-year growth matrix which was

2 WHO, 2019 3 UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/mena/reports/syria-crisis-fast-facts

2 presented at the February 2019 London initiative has given a clear direction for future reforms, with a renewed focus on job creation and fiscal consolidation. This process has also included Syrian refugees. On livelihoods, over 140,000 work permits have been issued to Syrians since January 2016, with an increase for permits being issued to women, In addition, processing of work permits has been revised in July 2019 in order to ensure that applications are processed swiftly. Following the adoption of further flexibilities to the agreement on the relaxation of the rules of origin with the EU in December 2018, exports to the EU increased slightly both in numbers of firms and value of exports. The government has committed to raise awareness to the private sector and has adopted instructions for the monitoring of labour standards in companies exporting to the EU. We welcome the Government of Jordan revision of the health policy decision at the end of March 2019 that has the potential to restore access for refugees to health services and is accompanied by increased financial support from donors. Regarding education, very high levels of school enrolment for primary- age Syrian children in particular have been maintained. The Government of Jordan is preparing a new Jordan Response Plan (JRP) 2020-2022 on a consultative basis, which will build on new joint vulnerability assessments, with the potential to enhance monitoring and prepare for a more effective response. The number of registered refugees is 657,445 (as of 18 September). Further work is welcomed to reconcile and consolidate data, particularly on refugee numbers. 10. Hosting the most refugees per capita in the world, Lebanon continues to be in a very challenging economic situation, which puts additional pressure on the most vulnerable Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees. The co-chairs encourage addressing the shrinking protection space and ensuring refugees' access to protection and livelihoods opportunities. Many refugees find it impossible to regularise their residency. While the health sector remains underfunded and vulnerable population segments remain underserved, capacity- building support and system strengthening are being better integrated into the response. The National Health Forum in December represents an opportunity towards a unified systemic approach, including improved planning and more adequate prioritisation of needs. In education, while substantial efforts have been made to increase the number of Syrian refugee children enrolled in public schools, over half of Syrian refugee children remain out of school. There are still critical financing gaps for enrolment and other pillars of the Reaching All Children in Education (RACE-2) Strategy, and there remains a need to remove systemic barriers to ensure a formalised and facilitated transition from non-formal to formal education.

11. Turkey is the country hosting the largest number of refugees, with over 3.6 million registered Syrians under Temporary Protection and close to 400,000 registered refugees from other countries. The EU is the biggest donor supporting refugees in Turkey, notably through the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, accounting for EUR 6 billion of support since 2016. Turkey has made considerable efforts at national and local levels to respond to refugee needs, including the provision of free medical care and access to education. In education, of one million Syrians of school age, some 640,000 have access to primary and secondary education. Healthcare services are being provided in over 150 nationwide migrant health centres, and more than 1.9 million refugees receive essential support through humanitarian assistance delivered with funding from the Facility. Given the scale of the crisis, other national and international partners are helping the Turkish authorities improve their capacity where needed, while also filling gaps by providing services to refugees and host communities. Turkey has taken some steps to facilitate access to formal employment by passing the necessary legislation to obtain work permits and to start small businesses. However, it is widely acknowledged that a significant number of Syrian refugees are engaged in the informal sector rather than in formal employment. 12. The protection of civilians (including IDPs and refugees) remains a central pillar in the humanitarian response and in the commitments taken by refugee-hosting countries. In this context, we acknowledge that the return of Syrian refugees from neighbouring countries to Syria should only occur once conditions allow for a safe, voluntary and dignified return,

3 in accordance with applicable norms of international law and in particular the principle of non- refoulement. Creating these conditions will be essential and UNHCR has a key role to play in this regard.

Way forward 13. The conflict in Syria continues to have a devastating human toll on the population. We reiterate the urgent need for parties to the conflict and those with influence over them to come to a genuine and inclusive Syrian owned and led political settlement and prevent the further suffering of civilians, as outlined in relevant UNSCRs, including UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and the 2012 Geneva Communique. The co-chairs will keep working to maintain international engagement; encourage further support for the vulnerable populations inside Syria (inclusive of the refugees) and for Syrian refugees in the region and their host communities; and contribute to bringing an end to this conflict. We all want peace in Syria for the Syrian people and for the overall region.