Firms urged to pay into refugee fund

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Firms urged to pay into refugee fund Businesses have been urged to contribute to UNHCR’s relief fund to help alleviate the ‘worst refugee crisis on record’, a UN representative has said. Toby Harward said 60 million people are currently displaced from their homes and if these people were a nation, they would be the world’s 24th largest country. He and other UNHCR officials were speaking at a conference held by NRS International in support of International Human Rights Day. UNHCR says it and its partner agencies need $20 billion for 2016 to address the current crisis. They have so far had just $500 million pledged from the private sector globally. Harward said: “It is becoming increasingly essential that the private sector acts as an impetus in humanitarian response by offering support and engaging further in the humanitarian sphere. “I think as we approach the end of this year, it’s quite appropriate that we mark Human Rights Day with the enormous refugee crisis unfolding in different parts of the world. We are witnessing unprecedented level of global displacement, with over 60 million currently displaced from their homes.” Harward said last year an average of 42,500 people became either refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced persons every single day for a year. He added: “This is an extraordinary statistic.” In a 2014 report on private business donors to UNHCR, the Netherlands took the top spot, followed by Spain, Italy, Japan and Qatar. The UAE did not feature in the top 10, although the government is a substantial donor. Some of the private sector support UNHCR has received is from the IKEA Foundation, the UPS Foundation, the LEGO Foundation and Fuji Optical. Bassam Shaheen, a private sector partner at UNHCR Middle East and Africa, said: “We are looking for $20.1 billion to cover the priority needs for the most vulnerable people.” sarwat@7days.ae Read the original story at: Firms urged to pay into refugee fund