Syrian children in a classroom at the zaatari refugee camp in jordan : un photo/mark gerten

Wealthy Qatar Lags in UN Aid Appeal for Syria

Doha has provided less than 0.1 percent of funds

Denis Fitzgerald
UN Tribune
Published in
2 min readSep 7, 2013

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Sept. 4, 2013 — Qatar, the richest country in the world, has given less than $3 million to the UN aid appeal for Syria, according to figures from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Of the more than $2.9 billion donated to the UN’s emergency relief fund for Syrians, energy-rich Qatar has contributed $2.7 million — less than 0.1 percent of the overall total. Countries such as Belgium, Finland, Iraq and Ireland have all given more.

The United States is the top donor, at $818 million, followed by the European Commission — the EU’s legislative arm — which has provided $619 million. Of the 28 EU member states, Britain, $196 million, and Germany $73 million are among the top ten donors.

Kuwait, $324 million, is the top Gulf donor, coming in third overall, according to OCHA’s figures as of Sept 4th, 2013, while Saudi Arabia, at $51 million, is the tenth biggest contributor.

Outside of the EU, US and Gulf, Japan, $82 million, and Australia, $64 million, are also among the top ten donors.

Of the remaining permanent five Security Council members, Russia has given $17 million, France, $15 million and China, $1 million.

The UN has requested a total of $4.4 billion to assist Syrians, with $1.4 billion designated to assist those inside the country — more than 4 million of whom are displaced — and $3 billion to assist neighboring countries that are now home to more than 2 million Syrian refugees.

- Denis Fitzgerald

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