UN envoy: 73 % of aid pledges of Kuwait-hosted Syria donors conference fulfilled

The UN Humanitarian Envoy Abdullah Al-Maatouq said Sunday that about 73 percent of pledges announced in the first Syria donors conference, held in Kuwait last January, have been fulfilled. In a press statement, Al-Maatouq, also chairman of the Kuwait-based International Islamic Charity Organization (IICO) and an advisor at the Amir Diwan, denied reports that the administrative costs consumed the bulk of the aid. Administrative costs hover between 3-7 percent of the total aid, he stated, stressing that the seven percent-threshold is binding and firmly applied in all international organizations. He pointed out that UN agencies are getting ready to participate in the second Syria donors conference which will be also hosted by Kuwait mid-January 2014. He recalled His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's initiative to host the first international conference of Syria donors in January 2013, which raised USD 1.5 billion in aid pledges including USD 300 million from Kuwait. He spoke highly about the huge efforts exerted by Kuwaiti government and non-government organizations to offer all help to desperate Syrian refugees.