17 January 2014, Harran-Kökenli camp, Turkey – Government ministers and senior representatives from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt together with UNHCR today appealed to the international community to boost solidarity with countries in the region that are hosting the majority of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.

In a joint statement delivered to journalists in the Harran-Kökenli refugee camp near Sanliurfa in south-eastern Turkey, participants deplored the extent of human suffering caused by the Syria crisis, its destabilizing impact on the entire region, and the threat it poses to global peace and security.

Participants reiterated that the refugee influx is a result of the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Syria, and underlined that unless stability and security are reestablished in Syria, a solution would remain elusive. "It is clear that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The solution must be political," the representatives of the five main host countries and UNHCR said. "We therefore appeal to all parties to the conflict to put their differences aside and come together for the Geneva II conference on 22 January, where some real steps must be taken towards finding a political solution and putting an end to the fighting." They further declared that, "Geneva II cannot be indifferent to the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian conflict and dramatic suffering of the Syrian people. Conditions must be created for humanitarian agencies to have unimpeded access to all the victims of the conflict, independently of their location inside Syria."

Today's high-level meeting was co-chaired by Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, who were joined by Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari; Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Dr. Ibrahim Saif; Egyptian Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Randa Labib and Lebanon's Refugee Coordinator at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Makram Malaeb, as part of a high-level regional coordination effort between UNHCR and major refugee-hosting countries in response to the world's largest refugee outflow in nearly 20 years.

Participants reaffirmed the outcomes of a high-level conference on solidarity and burden-sharing with countries hosting Syrian refugees, which took place during UNHCR's Executive Committee session in early October 2013. During that conference, the nearly 90 member states on UNHCR's governing board called for more financial aid and solidarity to help ease the burden on neighboring states in supporting refugees. Following today's meeting, ministers noted the continued need for massive international support to their countries, both in the form of increased financial assistance and through burden-sharing measures such as receiving higher numbers of Syrian refugees in countries beyond the Middle East. They also appealed to development actors and financial institutions to scale up their support to refugee hosting countries.

The ministers and UNHCR encouraged other countries to keep their borders open for Syrians seeking protection, to further enhance resettlement and humanitarian admission programmes for refugees, and introduce more flexible family reunification procedures and visa requirements for Syrians. In addition, UNHCR has called for a global moratorium on returns of Syrians to Syria and to countries in the region hosting the vast majority of refugees.

The delegates welcomed the results of the second international humanitarian pledging conference for Syria held in Kuwait City two days ago, which saw US$ 2.4 billion pledged to support refugees in the region as well as those in need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria. Ministers appealed for more support to local refugee-hosting communities, who find themselves under heavy pressure due to the influx.

There are now over 2.3 million registered Syrian refugees in the region, including some 869,000 in Lebanon, 600,000 in Jordan, 582,000 in Turkey, 213,000 in Iraq and over 132,000 in Egypt. Governments estimate actual numbers to be much higher. In addition, an estimated total of 6.5 million people are displaced inside Syria.

Also at the meeting, delegates reached agreement to intensify joint work in three critical areas; resettlement and humanitarian admission; awareness raising and advocacy and humanitarian access and delivery inside Syria.

Guest delegates expressed their appreciation to the Government of Turkey for organizing this meeting.

Read the related story: "UNHCR joins call in Turkey for solidarity with countries hosting Syrian refugees"