The United Nations said that about one million Syrian children had been born in neighboring countries, to which they have fled, since the beginning of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, adding that it had adopted a plan to support national efforts for the host countries of these children, of which Turkey hosts the largest number.
The Director of the UNHCR’s division for Iraq and Syria, Amin Awad, said that there were about one million Syrian children who had been born in recent years in neighboring countries.
He added, in a statement to the United Nations news portal, late on Tuesday that the highest portion of them are in Turkey, and then Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, without adding more details.
He called for global support for Syrian children in neighboring countries, saying that the international community must consider these children and what they require. He added that the United Nations was now directing efforts to support neighboring countries.
He said, “It is critical that the international community continues to recognize the plight of Syrian refugees and provide vital support to host governments and Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan partners to help shoulder this massive burden, while waiting for the voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity.”
According to a UN news source, the agency has appreciated the generous role of neighboring countries in hosting a large number of refugees since the start of the crisis, and the provision of asylum and protection, making public services available to refugees, and enabling a large number of them to participate in the local economy, despite the impacts on their own development path.
The United Nations stressed that dealing with this huge number of refugees was still a challenge, especially given that there were more than 5.6 million refugees currently registered across the region.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
