1. At the Second Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region held in Brussels, Belgium, on April 25, the government delegation from the Republic of Korea, led by Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Oh Young-ju, announced the plan to offer a total of $14 mln in humanitarian assistance to Syria and its neighboring countries in 2018.

2. The Conference, co-hosted by the EU and the UN, took place to review the progress in the implementation of the pledges made at its former round held in April 2017 and to win continued support from the international community for the efforts to respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis amid the eighth-year situation in Syria.

° According to the announcement by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Syrian situation has left 13.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. And its neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, by accommodating 5.6 million Syrian refugees, are shouldering huge econo-social costs.

° Accordingly, the UN asked the international community to provide Syria and its neighboring countries with some $9.2 bln in humanitarian assistance in 2018, the largest among such amounts requested by the UN in the same year.

3. In her remarks delivered at the Conference in her capacity as the ROK’s head delegate, Deputy Minister Oh shared with the other participants that the ROK government had so far contributed approximately a combined $50 mln in humanitarian assistance to Syria and its neighboring countries and plans to offer another $14 mln to that end in 2018.

° The Deputy Minister, referring to her visit to a Syrian refugee family living on the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan before the Conference, underscored the ROK government’s commitment to rendering continued assistance in education and women empowerment, and expressed support for the work to draw up a lasting political solution to the Syrian crisis and for the UN-led mediation efforts to that end.

4. The event brought together EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and delegates from 57 countries, 19 UN agencies and 10 regional organizations. The participating countries pledged to offer a combined $4.4 bln in 2018 and another $3.4 bln in 2018-2020 to Syria and its neighboring countries.

° The participating countries underscored the gravity of the humanitarian crisis amid the prolonged situation in Syria; drew a common understanding that only a political resolution will bring an end to the Syrian crisis; and expressed support for the Geneva process and other forms of political dialogue.

5. The ROK government, as a responsible middle power country of the international community, will continue to take an active part in the efforts to help those suffering from the Syrian situation, one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, especially such vulnerable groups as children, women and refugees.

* unofficial translation