EU helps Jordan beef up security at Syrian refugee camps

AMMAN — The European Union on Thursday announced an additional 20 million euros in financial assistance to Jordan help mitigate the impact of the refugee burden.

The additional assistance came through two agreements worth 20 million euros the EU signed with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UNHCR to support Jordanian authorities in ensuring safe and decent transportation to the Syrian refugees crossing into Jordan and in improving the security situation in the refugee camps.

EU Ambassador to Jordan Joanna Wronecka signed the two agreements Thursday with UNHCR Representative Andrew Harper and David Terzi, head of the IOM mission in Jordan.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Border Security Commander Brig. Gen. Hussein Zyoud and a security officer on behalf of Brig. Gen. Wadah Hmoud, director of Syrian refugee camps’ administration.

Voicing EU’s appreciation for Jordan’s “pivotal role” in providing support to the Syrian refugees, Wronecka voiced the union’s commitment to continued assistance to the refugee-burdened Kingdom.

“The new support [20 million euros] is part of the 230.9 million euros the EU has allocated in financial assistance to Jordan over the last two years aimed at mitigating the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan,” the ambassador said during the signing ceremony.

Also expressing gratitude for the “generosity” of Jordanian authorities and local communities towards the Syrian refugees, Wronecka added, however, that “the high numbers of Syrian refugees require significant contributions from the international community”.

“Realising the burdens the refugee crisis places on the country’s resources and the resulting enormous strain the country is put under, the EU remains deeply committed to assisting the Jordanian government in its response to the refugee crisis,” the ambassador said.

In a statement distributed to journalists, the EU said that the growth of the refugee camps in Jordan has been so fast that there is now an urgent need to enable a more systematic presence of the Jordanian authorities to help prevent security incidents in and around the refugee camps.

The UNHCR, the statement said, has entered a partnership with the recently set up Syrian Refugee Camps Department in charge of camp management and security to provide support for the police, Gendarmerie and civil defence personnel deployed at refugee camps. “Of the 20 million euros, 12 million will go to the security infrastructure provision at the refugee camps.”

The remaining 8 million euros will go to the Jordanian border guards and the IOM in material assistance to the former to help them in their efforts to ensure the safe and decent passage of Syrian refugees fleeing to Jordan and to help the latter provide capacity building and address the needs of the concerned officials, the statement said.

Harper commended the border guards’ humanitarian efforts to the Syrian refugees, saying: “In many countries around the world, border forces prevent refugees from coming into their secure territories except in Jordan, where border guards well-receive refugees and help them get into [the country]. Jordanians should be proud of their armed forces.”

He added that the UNHCR’s main mission is to make sure that the situation in Jordan would not become terrible because of the presence of more than 600,000 Syrian refugees.

Asked whether the nearly $2.4 billion donated during the recently concluded international pledging conference in Kuwait is enough, Harper said: “Not enough and never enough but a good step anyway. We are happy with the amount pledged.”  

Zyoud also said that the financial assistance to the border guards will be spent on logistic and humanitarian services offered to the Syrian refugees and not on security. 

According to EU figures, over 2 billion euros have been committed by the EU and member states in response to the Syrian crisis, making the union the world’s largest donor.

The bulk of the funds, said an EU statement, is committed to humanitarian interventions inside Syria. With an estimated 9.38 million people in need of humanitarian aid and over 6.5 million internally displaced, an increasing amount is being directed at alleviating pressures on neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan and Lebanon.

“So far, the European Commission has channelled 230.9 million euros to Jordan through humanitarian crisis response and development instruments,” the statement said.