By RIYADH: WALAA HAWARI, ARAB NEWS STAFF
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ended a two-day international ministerial conference on refugees in the Muslim world in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, yesterday.
The conference focused on the refugee situation in the Muslim world. The OIC’s 57 member states, non-member states, NGOs and international organizations participated in the event and shed light on the hospitality and assistance extended by OIC member states to refugees and asylum-seekers.
In 2011 OIC states hosted more than 17 million people, comprising refugees, asylum-seekers, returnees, internally displaced people and the stateless, which represent 50 percent of those of concern to the UN refugee agency.
read more here: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article632918.ece
Categories: Asia, Saudi Arabia
Muslim countries have done a lot more than UNHCR or any ‘Western’ countries have done for refugees. Starting with the fact that they do not ‘label’ the ‘refugees’ as ‘refugees’, but as ‘guests’. Jordan and Syria hosted millions of Iraqis. Pakistan and Iran hosted millions of Afghans. Now Jordan and Turkey host tens of thousands of Syrians.
Yes, help the ‘refugees’ please, hopefully without having to pay the high bureaucratic costs of UNHCR.
Thanks Rafiq for this topic. They are less recognised due to th fact they are not signatories of the UN Convention for Refugees or known as Geneva Cinvention. You are absolutely right Muslim countries have sheltered more refugees than any other country in the West.