Kuwait pledges $90 million for quake victims

NEW YORK: Kuwait pledged about $90 million to support the UN’s efforts to aid survivors of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last month. The pledge is part of the UN’s urgent appeals for the two countries, which include the donations of both the people and government, the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Martin Griffiths said in a press statement on Wednesday.

The UN Secretary General’s undersecretary for humanitarian affairs and rescue coordinator noted that he is deeply concerned that the amount of financing is not any close to the target number, adding that Kuwait’s pledge will be of great help for families who lost everything.

The pledge, the highest any country had offered since the disaster, will aid the UN organizations is providing food, education, shelter, health services and more for about 18 million people affected by the earthquakes. After the earthquakes, the UN had announced the need for $398 million for an urgent response in Syria and one billion dollars for Turkey. Up until now, 79 percent of the target number for Syria was met, while finance rate for Turkey reached 19 percent.

Zionist’s remarks

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its condemnation and denunciation to the racists and provocative remarks made by an Zionist official of the occupation government, through which he denied the existence of the Palestinian people and the use of a map of Zionist entity that includes the borders of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In a statement, the ministry affirmed Kuwait’s rejection of the continued inflammatory and irresponsible remarks that contradict historical facts and geographical reality, and are inconsistent with all international laws and norms.

The Ministry reiterated Kuwait’s principled and firm position, which calls for the need for the United Nations and the international community to assume its moral and legal responsibilities to stop such extremist statements targeting the Palestinian people, and the need to work to deter these negative practices. The statement noted on the need to provide to the Palestinian people full international protection, and support to all UN and international efforts aimed at reaching a permanent solution.

The statement underlined the need for a comprehensive and just solution for the Palestinian people in accordance with international resolutions, the road map, and the Arab peace initiative, which in turn leads to the Palestinian people obtaining all their legitimate rights and establishing their independent state within the borders of 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Attacks on Syrians

Kuwait also expressed concern over attacks targeting civilians in Syria as documented by the independent fact-finding commission in Syria. The Kuwaiti stand was expressed by the permanent representative at the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Nasser Al-Hayen, in an address to the UN Human Rights Council during an examination of a report filed by the commission.

Kuwait believes that tackling the humanitarian crisis in Syria hinges on ending the conflict that in turn can only be resolved through a political process, according to the 2023 Geneva declaration and the UN Security Council resolution 2245, he said. It calls on all parties to observe the cease-fire and revive the political process, masterminded by the UN special envoy for Syria, ambassador Al-Hayen said. Al-Hayen confirmed that Kuwait had allocated 50 million dollars worth of aid for the Syrian people in the aftermath of the recent earthquakes that jolted the nation. – KUNA

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