Qatar has supported UN organisations with $500mn last year, HE the UN Secretary General's Humanitarian Envoy Dr Ahmed al-Muraikhi said adding that new UN offices will be opened in Doha soon.
He said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has commended Qatar for its efforts to support the UN organisations, especially UNRWA.
Qatar has provided generous support to UNRWA, and is trying to find creative and innovative ways to support the organisation, such as Zakat funds, he said.
HE al-Muraikhi also pointed out in an interview with Al-Sharq newspaper that the disbursement of funds through UN organisations is safe as it prevents misuse of the money for illegal activities, such as terrorism and money laundering, noting that the United Nations has advanced monitoring bodies.
Talking about the efforts he made over the past three years as an envoy of the UN Secretary General, he highlighted the inauguration of Global Humanitarian Action Executive Alliance (GHAEA), which aims at uniting businesses with UN organisations and training a group of Qatari youth to graduate as leaders for humanitarian action, and the signing of a partnership between the private sector in Qatar and the United Nations organisations to implement the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) with the aim of benefiting the private sector. A meeting between Qatar Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the UN Charter was also held.
He underlined that the GHAEA aims to unify the business world with the UN organisations to face major global humanitarian challenges with a focus on bridging the humanitarian and development gap through partnership, exchange of market knowledge across sectors, advocacy and technical assistance.
"More than $21.9bn is needed in order to provide life-saving assistance to more than 131.7mn people affected by war and natural disasters."
Regarding future plans, HE al-Muraikhi said as Qatar is preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it seeks to create a partnership between the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and the UN organisations.
On new programmes to alleviate the sufferings of Syrian refugees in light of the harassment they face and his role as the head of the donor group for Syria, HE al-Muraikhi stressed that there is good cooperation from donor countries, and they are ready for further support , but as it has been said before, a political solution saves all parties costs and expenses. "Material and humanitarian support cannot be a substitute for a political solution, as a political solution ends the crisis and its root causes and enables refugees to return home."
