UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Syrian Refugees UNHCR 16JUN2020
/
2:10
/
MP4
/
212 MB

Edited News | UNHCR , UNITED NATIONS

UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Syrian Refugees UNHCR 16JUN2020

Syrian refugees resort to ever more desperate measures to resist pandemic impact

The COVID-19 crisis has put another 200,000 Syrian refugees in need of emergency assistance in the last three months alone, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, in an appeal for funding to confront new challenges posed by the health emergency.

Now well into its 10th year, the Syrian conflict has created more than 5.5 million refugees seeking shelter in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

“The number of vulnerable refugees who lack the basic resources to survive in exile has dramatically surged as a result of the public health emergency,” said UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic. “The refugee-hosting communities in countries in Syria’s neighbourhood experience similar hardships. Many refugees have lost what were already meagre incomes, forcing them to cut down on the most basic needs, including food and medication.”

Since pandemic lockdown measures were implemented in these countries, Mr. Mahecic explained that UNHCR has seen “in addition to the families that have already been identified as vulnerable, another 200,000 refugees just in this period of three months who because of the impact needed emergency assistance”.

Clear signs of distress among vulnerable individuals who have lost their jobs include coping measures “that would allow them to somehow make ends meet”, he added. “We have evidence of people trying to skip meals in order to spread out the food so it can last longer, they may skip taking medication, anything that is considered right now something where they can cut costs.”

Citing the urgent need for additional support to sustain humanitarian initiatives, Mr Mahecic explained that in Jordan, only 17,000 out of 49,000 newly identified vulnerable families received help, “as UNHCR is lacking the funds to extend its programmes”.

Prior to the pandemic, the majority of Syrian refugees in the region were living

below the poverty line, according to the UN agency, while a recent survey in Jordan showed that only 35 per cent of refugees said they had a secure job to return to after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

More than six million internally displaced Syrians and other vulnerable groups remain inside Syria, according to UNHCR.

Before the onset of the virus, the agency’s $5.5 billion Syria Refugee Response and Resilience Plan 2020 appeal was only 20 per cent funded across the region. It is now updating its requirements to cope with additional needs and has appealed for strong international support to countries sheltering those in need.

“Host communities have shown great solidarity, but they have also suffered loss of livelihoods as a result the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr Mahecic, adding that nine in 10 Syrian refugees in the region live in towns or villages and not in camps.

Beyond the immediate emergency, the UNHCR spokesperson highlighted the need to ensure that refugees were included in countries’ national public health responses to COVID-19, in addition to other basis services, including education.

“It is a very important point that the refugees, internally displaced, stateless people are included in the national public health responses,” he said. “Only if everybody’s being looked after and everybody’s safe, we can all be safe.”

  1. Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
  2. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “The number of vulnerable refugees who lack the basic resources to survive in exile has dramatically surged as a result of the public health emergency. The refugee-hosting communities in countries in Syria’s neighbourhood experience similar hardships. Many refugees have lost what were already meagre incomes, forcing them to cut down on the most basic needs, that includes food and medicine.”
  3. Wide shot: ‘Broken chair’ memorial in the Place des Nations, Geneva, with UN Geneva in background.
  4. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “We have now also seen in addition to the families that have already been identified as vulnerable, another 200,000 refugees just in this period of three months who, because of the impact needed emergency assistance.”
  5. Wide shot: UN flag fluttering in the wind, UN Geneva.
  6. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “People resort to the measures that would allow them to somehow make ends meet. We have evidence of people trying to skip meals in order to spread out the food so it can last longer, they may skip taking medication, anything that is considered right now something where they can cut costs.”
  7. Medium shot: UN Geneva Palais des Nations, flag alley, UN flag.
  8. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “In Jordan for example, only 17,000 out of 49,000 newly identified vulnerable families received emergency cash support, as UNHCR is lacking the funds to extend its programmes.”
  9. Wide shot: elevated view of UN Geneva main entrance, with UN Palais des Nations complex below and mountains behind.
  10. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “It is a very important point that the refugees, internally displaced, stateless people are included in the national public health responses. Only if everybody’s being looked after and everybody’s safe, we can all be safe.”
  11. Medium shot: anti-war sculpture, Place des Nations, Geneva, with UN Geneva to rear.
  12. Medium-wide shot: UN Geneva flag alley.
  13. Medium shot: UN flag in UN Geneva flag alley, elevated view.
  14. Wide shot: UN Geneva flag alley.

Similar Stories

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025

1

1

1

Edited News , B-roll | OCHA

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA

Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.

/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA ENG FRA

Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNHCR

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025 ENG FRA

Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR

With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine. 

 

Ethiopia update - WFP

1

1

1

Edited News | WFP

Ethiopia update - WFP ENG FRA

Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday. 

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon ENG FRA

Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP

1

1

1

Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP ENG FRA

Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’

In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Tariff uncertainty and potential   ITC

1

1

1

Edited News | ITC

Tariff uncertainty and potential ITC ENG FRA

Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan ENG FRA

Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.

UN Human Rights Briefing  by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Briefing by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO ENG FRA

Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say

Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.

Gaza update - UNMAS

1

1

Edited News | UNMAS

Gaza update - UNMAS ENG FRA

In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.

Myanmar earthquake update - UNDP

1

1

1

Edited News | UNDP

Myanmar earthquake update - UNDP ENG FRA

Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP

In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.