"First let me thank my colleagues and friends Federica and Nasser, as well as Minister Fakhoury and Commissioners Hahn and Stylianides, and their teams, for organizing this important ministerial meeting.
• Luxembourg shares your deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Syria and its impact on the region and beyond.
• Yesterday, Luxembourg organised a high-level event on the issue of indiscriminate attacks and barrel bombs, a primary cause of mass displacement. We heard from the Head of the White Helmets. We heard stories of civilians who are suffering unthinkable atrocities. The carnage must stop! Yet despite repeated condemnations by the Security Council, the indiscriminate use of weapons such as barrel bombs by Syrian regime forces has only increased. Faced by the growing threat of barrel bombs, thousands of Syrians have no choice but to leave their country and seek refuge elsewhere.
• Today’s meeting should define a “path of hope”. What can we do in order to give new hope to the Syrian people? Let me make four brief points.
• First: we need to fully support Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in his efforts towards finding a political solution. That is the only way to end the Syrian nightmare. In the meantime, we need to pursue our efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
• Second: we need to push for improved access, through better cross-line and cross-border assistance, and for improved delivery of humanitarian aid, including medical aid, to reach the millions of people in need in Syria. We need to call on the Security Council to ensure the implementation of its Syria-related resolutions.
• Third: we need to keep our promise and fulfil our pledges to fund the humanitarian appeals. Luxembourg delivered on its pledge for 2015 made at the Kuwait III Conference by mobilizing 5.5 million euro. Today I can announce that we have decided to increase our contribution by 1 million euro. This increase will benefit inter alia the World Food Programme and UNHCR.
• Fourth: given the protracted nature of the crisis, we must follow a long-term strategy which brings together humanitarian and long-term stabilisation and development assistance, for Syria as well as for its neighbours hosting millions of refugees from Syria. Here let me stress the need to invest in education. Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, more than 2 million school-age children are not attending school and 5,000 to 14,000 schools have been damaged, destroyed, or occupied. Ensuring children’s access to education is crucial not only for their own development, but also for the future of their communities. Schools can provide the stability, structure and routine required for children to cope with loss, fear, stress and violence. Luxembourg is proud to support UNICEF’s “No Lost Generation” Programme and UNICEF’s work to support the well-being of Syrian children living in Turkey. We have joined the EU’s “Children of Peace” initiative. Let me also mention our support to a programme implemented by an NGO, SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde, in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Tartus, Deraa, Aleppo and Homs governorates, which is offering child-friendly spaces to 10,000 vulnerable children, allowing them to have access to recreational activities, psychosocial support and informal educational activities.
• Dear colleagues, children make up half of all displaced from the conflict in Syria and are disproportionately affected by the conflict. We must do all we can to give those children hope for a better future."