WASHINGTON – Today, as UN-coordinated funding appeals for humanitarian aid in Syria fall billions of dollars short, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called on U.S. allies around the world to attend the upcoming “Supporting Syria and the Region” Conference on February 4, 2016, in London and to increase their donations to the meet the immediate and long-term needs of those affected by the Syrian crisis. Murphy is Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, and is a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. 

Co-hosted by the United Kingdom, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, and the United Nations, the “Supporting Syria and the Region” Conference will bring together world leaders, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society to raise significant new funding to help the millions of people whose lives have been torn apart by the civil war in Syria. In addition to raising funds for basic needs, the conference will also set ambitious goals on education and economic opportunities to transform the lives of refugees, to support countries hosting refugees, and to ease the desperate flow of migration out of the region. 

To date, the United States has contributed more than $4.5 billion to the Syrian humanitarian response, and remains the single largest donor of humanitarian aid for those affected by the crisis. 

“The Syrian conflict has produced what is possibly the worst humanitarian disaster of our time,” said Murphy. “These refugees rely on international aid to survive, but the funding humanitarian pipeline for the Syria crisis is once again failing to meet the urgent needs of millions of displaced people. Without funding, humanitarian aid in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt will be disrupted, hope will dissipate, food will run out, and in some cases, refugees will turn to extremist groups for help. We can't let this happen."

Murphy added, “When I visited a refugee camp in Jordan last year, I saw firsthand the horrible conditions in which hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children are living. The brutality and callousness of ISIL and the Assad regime are real, and the entire international community – not just a handful of generous nations – must act together to make an immediate, yet lasting impact on the lives of millions of Syrians. I urge leaders from every corner of the world to join Secretary Kerry, Prime Minister Cameron, and the many other hosts in London this week to pledge to fill the funding gaps. We have a responsibility to each other and to our consciences to step up.”

More than 13.5 million civilians inside of Syria and another 4.2 million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. In fact, more than 25% of Lebanon’s 4.5 million residents are now Syrian refugees – a proportion equivalent to the United States absorbing 80 million refugees, or more than 65% of Mexico’s population.