UN chief to host major conference on Syrian refugee resettlement

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is scheduled to host in Geneva Wednesday a high-level conference on Syrian refugee issue, a UN spokesman told reporters here Tuesday.

"This event follows February's conference on Syria in London, which examined the financial dimensions of the humanitarian challenge posed by the more than 13.5 million people in need inside Syria and the 4.8 million refugees in the surrounding region," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will address the conference. "He intends once again to emphasize that we must do everything possible to give hope to the millions of Syrian women, men and children who have been forced from their homes and their communities," Dujarric said.

Representatives from some 92 countries will attend the meeting along with 6 inter-governmental organizations, 14 UN agencies and 24 non-governmental organizations, he added.

The conference is expected to deal with the needs of communities in host countries, including Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.

The Tuesday gathering is also in the run up to September's summit on refugees, which is expected to take place on the sidelines of annual high-level session of the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York.

"Refugees fleeing conflict and violence and arriving in Europe carry an important message: addressing their plight cannot only be the task of countries and communities that are close to wars. It is a global responsibility that must be widely shared until peace prevails again," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a press release.

"Giving at least some Syrian refugees an opportunity to move on to better lives, and relieving the burden on countries hosting millions of refugees are important gestures of solidarity. Let us not miss this opportunity," Grandi added.

In line with refugee situations elsewhere, UNHCR estimates that as many as 10 percent of Syria's 4.8 million refugees fall into this category, and that well over 450,000 places will be needed before the end of 2018. Enditem