World leaders are heading to London for a conference aimed at raising $9bn for Syrian refugees and preventing the creation of a permanent underclass of uneducated, restless and jobless Syrians living in countries bordering their homeland.
Organisers want the aid to be diverted from food handouts towards work and education opportunities for Syrians in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.
British officials acknowledge that unless refugees are offered the possibility of a better life both in and outside the camps, there is an increased risk that they will fall prey to extremism or give up waiting to return to their homeland, instead making the perilous journey to Europe. There is also a growing acceptance that countries neighbouring Syria cannot carry the burden without substantially more help.
David Cameron, Angela Merkel and the leaders of Norway and Kuwait have jointly convened the conference to be held on Thursday. They have pointed out that the 2015 appeal for Syrian refugees failed to meet half its targets or pledges, and say that in 2016 the goal must be to get 1 million more Syrians into education and tens of thousands into jobs by offering them work permits.
Syria’s neighbours, who have hosted 4.6 million refugees between them, have seen their labour markets badly disrupted and have been reluctant to offer permits.
The UN children’s agency has said that $1.4bn will be needed to rescue what could become a lost generation both in Syria and in exile.
Delegates at a European Bank of Reconstruction Development conference on Wednesday will discuss how the private sector can boost investment in Lebanon and Turkey. The voices of refugees will be heard at a civil society conference attended by the UK’s international development secretary, Justine Greening.
The London conference is expected to discuss the lack of humanitarian access inside Syria and will spill over into discussions of domestic Syrian politics and how to end the nearly five-year war there.
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