$4.4 billion for Syria
and its neighbors

Government committed to expanding the

tracking system, monitoring, and evaluation

Participants in the second Brussels conference on ‘Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region’ pledged $4.4 billion for 2018 for Syria and its neighboring countries, as well as multi-year pledges of $3.4 billion for 2019-2020. The promised amounts are grants.

Several international financial institutions and donors also announced around $21.2 billion in concessional loans.

The Brussels II conference took place on 24-25 April 2018 and was hosted by the European Union and co-chaired by the United Nations. It brought together 86 delegations including 57 states and representatives of regional organizations, international financial institutions, and UN agencies.

The total UN-coordinated appeal for Syria seeks to cover assistance and protection needs inside Syria that amount to $3.51 billion. An additional appeal for $5.6 billion (inclusive of the $1.2 billion previously committed) is required to support refugee and host communities in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. There was no breakdown at the end of the conference of the amounts that would be available for each of the five countries.

“Despite of all our efforts, the odds of social and economic instability are real. It is important to work together to reverse negative repercussions, whether through humanitarian aid or development projects that improve the livelihoods of refugees and host communities,” Prime Minister Saad Hariri said.

The Government and its international partners committed to reviewing how appropriate and impactful the current response model is.

“International partners will endeavor to provide sustained, predictable multi-year funding to strengthen Lebanon’s stability and development,” the Lebanon Partnership Paper, released following the conference, stated.

The Government committed to expanding the tracking, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms under the Lebanese Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) Steering Committee to ensure follow up on the commitments made at the conference.

The Government also committed to ensuring that all eligible refugees can renew their residency free of charge.

This year’s pledges were less than last year’s. During the Brussels I Conference, participants had pledged $6 billion for 2017, as well as multi-year pledges of $3.73 billion for 2018-2020. International financial institutions and donors had also announced around $30 billion in concessional financing.

For local host communities, donors had reported a total of $1.37 billion disbursed in 2017. This represents 45 percent of the overall target for the 2017 LCRP appeal. The country has received around $1.2 billion on average every year since 2013.

Hariri said: “The bitter truth is that in spite of all our combined efforts, the situation has deteriorated and Lebanon continues to be a big refugee camp.”