GENEVA, 2nd October 2012
BRIEFER: Adrian Edwards, UNHCR Spokesman
BRIEFER: Adrian Edwards, UNHCR Spokesman
TOPICS:
1. Registered Syrian refugees in surrounding states triple in three months
2. More than 25,000 refugees return home from Republic of Congo since May
This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today’s
Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva
1. Registered Syrian refugees in surrounding states triple in three months
The number of Syrians registered or awaiting registration as refugees in
Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq has now surpassed 300,000, triple the level of
just three months ago. The latest figures show a total regional registered
population of more than 311,500 Syrian refugees in the four countries, compared
to around 100,000 in June.
The continuing rapid growth in refugee numbers underscores the urgency of
last week’s revised Syria Regional Response Plan seeking $487.9 million in
support of up to 710,000 Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries by the end of
this year.
The generosity and hospitality shown by these countries as they
struggle to cope with growing numbers of refugees make it essential that the
international community provide as much support as possible.
Many refugees and
the communities hosting them are already running out of resources.
Compounding the urgency is the upcoming onset of winter temperatures across
the region, in less than 10 weeks from now.
We are in a race against time.
In
Jordan, for example, where thousands are living in tents, the average low
temperature between mid-November and mid-March is two degrees Celsius.
A
winterization plan is being developed, but it too requires support and
funding.
JORDAN:
103,488 Syrians in Jordan have registered or are
awaiting registration - four times more than in June.
The new regional response
plan estimates some 250,000 Syrian refugees will need assistance in Jordan by
the end of the year.
Some 65 percent of Syrian refugees currently receiving or
seeking assistance in Jordan are in urban areas, while the remaining 35 percent
are in the new camp at Za'atri and other smaller facilities
(King Abdullah Park
and Cyber City).
Since it opened just two months ago, Za'atri has received more
than 30,000 people.
In many cases, those living on the local economy are finding it
increasingly difficult as their resources dwindle.
Our Jordan office has seen a
marked increase in Syrians struggling to live in urban areas approaching UNHCR
help desks in Irbid, Ramtha, Mafraq and Zarqa, most of them worried about
possible eviction.
The vast majority of new arrivals are poor and in need of
some kind of humanitarian assistance.
UNHCR and its partners offer a variety of
programmes to assist urban refugees in need, including cash assistance and the
provision of a package of household items ranging from kitchen sets and
mattresses to sanitation items.
Since March,
some 55,000 Syrians have received
assistance items, while cash grants have gone to more than 2,600 of the most
destitute families.
LEBANON:
The number of registered Syrian refugees and
those awaiting registration in Lebanon is now more than 80,800 people.
The
Lebanese government estimates that, in addition, tens of thousands of Syrians
have entered Lebanon this year and not yet returned.
Registered or not, they all
live on the local economy
-often depending on relatives or their own resources.
It is expected that an increasing number will be seeking assistance in the
coming months as the resources of refugees as well as their host families become
seriously stretched.
Thus, the revised Syria response plan estimates a
registered Syrian refugee population of 120,000 by the end of 2012.
The scattered nature of the Syrian refugee population in Lebanon is posing
challenges in providing assistance in often remote areas.
Some 56 percent are
residing in the north; 41 percent in the Bekaa; and three percent in Beirut and
the south.
Many of the hosting communities are among the most economically
depressed in Lebanon.
As numbers increase and the winter months approach, needs
are increasing and becoming more acute.
UNHCR and partner agencies are rolling
out a winterization program aiming to provide refugee families and vulnerable
Lebanese ones with fuel for heating, mattresses, blankets and clothes as well as
needed refurbishment to accommodations in readiness for the colder months.
TURKEY:
Based on figures from the Government of Turkey,
the number of Syrian refugees registered and assisted by the government in camps
was 93,576 as of Oct. 1.
Several thousand more are known to be residing outside
the current 13 camps.
Three more camps are opening.
Under the revised response
plan, Turkey could be hosting up to 280,000 Syrian refugees by the end of this
year.
In addition to the influx of Syrians, Turkey has also seen an increase in
the number of urban asylum applications over the past 15 months -many of them
related to the crisis in Syria.
The new arrivals consist mostly of Iraqis,
Iranians, Afghans and others who have come to Turkey seeking protection.
IRAQ:
33,704 Syrians have been registered in Iraq,
including 4,263 in the past week.
More than 28,000 are Syrian nationals of
Kurdish origin who have arrived in the Kurdistan Region (Dohuk, Erbil and
Sulaimaniya).
Further south, at Al-Qaem, Anbar governorate, more than 5,600
Syrian nationals have sought asylum since the Baghdad government opened the
country’s borders in late July.
Initially, many of those fleeing into the Kurdish Region were single
refugees.
Recently, however, there has been a growing proportion of families
among the new arrivals.
The revised regional response plan estimates that up to 60,000 Syrians may
be in need of protection and assistance in Iraq by the end of the year.
............................................................
For further information on this topic, please contact:
In Beirut: Mohammed Abu Asaker on mobile + 971 50 621 3552
In Geneva: Sybella Wilkes on mobile +41 79 557 91 38
In Beirut: Mohammed Abu Asaker on mobile + 971 50 621 3552
In Geneva: Sybella Wilkes on mobile +41 79 557 91 38
.............................................................
2. More than 25,000 refugees return from Republic of Congo since May
2. More than 25,000 refugees return from Republic of Congo since May
UNHCR has helped more than 25,000 Congolese return to their homes in
northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from neighbouring Republic of
Congo under a voluntary repatriation programme that was launched in May.
The 25,000 mark was passed last Friday (the current total of those helped
back by UNHCR is 25,696).
UNHCR hopes to repatriate a further 24,000 more
refugees, mostly from Equateur province, across the Oubangui River to the DRC by
the end of this year, plus a further 32,000 next year.
Currently, there are more than 100,000 Congolese refugees still in Republic
of Congo.
They have been living in isolated areas along the river since fleeing
ethnic clashes in Equateur province in 2009.
At the height of the crisis, about 143,000 Congolese fled their villages
for safety in neighbouring countries
-123,000 in Republic of Congo and 20,000
in the Central African Republic-
when clashes erupted between the Munzaya and
Enyele groups over traditional fishing and farming rights.
An additional 100,000 Congolese were displaced inside Equateur province but
most returned home when conditions improved.
A few thousand refugees also
returned on their own from the Republic of Congo and from Central African
Republic.
UNHCR has picked up the pace of returns since July, adding a second weekly
convoy to take people across the river and home.
Returnees tell UNHCR staff that
they believe the security situation has improved while parents say they want to
go back to enroll their young children in primary schools.
In addition to an aid package provided to each family on arrival,
UNHCR and
other humanitarian organizations have initiated reintegration activities,
especially in the Libenge and Kungu territories,
to help ensure a sustainable
return.
So far, and with a limited budget, UNHCR and its partners have
distributed 700 shelter kits for spontaneous returnees and have also built 350
shelters and 12 wells for the most vulnerable households as well as primary
schools.
Awareness campaigns aimed at ensuring peaceful co-existence between the
various communities have been undertaken.
Equateur is one of the most remote provinces in the country, lacking basic
socio-economic structures and infrastructure.
UNHCR has appealed for development
actors to help strengthen the reintegration activities.
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Dear actup drase hellas
Please find hereunder today's UNHCR press briefing.
Sincere regards,
Public Information Unit
UNHCR Office in Greece
Tel. 210 6756801, Fax. 210 6756800
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These Briefing Notes are
issued by the UNHCR Communications and Public Information Service,
Geneva ______________________________________________________________________
