2024-02-20 23:00:52
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today it was vital that the United States continue funding aid agencies to ease the refugee crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, Reuters reported.
UNHCR needs $993 million to fund its response to the crisis caused by the invasion, which marks its second anniversary on Saturday.
A total of $600 million is earmarked for house repairs and assistance to ensure that Ukrainians fleeing the war can return to their homes. But only 13 percent of the required funding has been secured so far.
“Of course, we are very closely monitoring the situation in the US, which is our main sponsor globally,” Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR’s regional director for Europe, told a briefing in Geneva via video link.
“It is assumed that the State Department will receive additional budget options, including for aid to Ukraine, which has not yet been voted on by the US Congress. It is clear that some of this aid could go to UNHCR and other UN agencies, to help refugees in Ukraine,” he added.
The United States provides more than 30 percent of UNHCR’s budget, Leclerc said, with the European Union, Germany and Japan being the agency’s other major donors.
The Russian invasion has forced some 6.3 million people in Ukraine to flee abroad, and another 3.7 million people remain internally displaced within the country, according to UNHCR data.
At the same time, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is trying to find out what happened to 23,000 people – from both the Ukrainian and Russian sides – whose families have no news of them. This may be because they may have been captured, killed or lost contact with their relatives after fleeing their homes, Reuters noted.
Leclerc said that most Ukrainian refugees have expressed a desire to return home, but missile attacks and uncertain economic prospects prevent them from doing so, BTA reports. He stated that UNHCR is prioritizing the repair of homes in war-affected areas. “We need this show of generosity that we have seen coming from all over the world to continue for Ukraine as long as the war lasts,” he added.
According to a UNHCR survey conducted among 9,900 Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons in January and February, 65 percent of refugees and 72 percent of internally displaced persons expressed a desire to return to their homes, specified Leclerc, quoted by DPA.