Refugee crisis is a product of conflicts, not poverty: Emir

The asylum crisis is the product of regional conflicts, civil wars and displacements on racial, ethnic or other sectarian backgrounds, some of which date back long ago such as the Palestinian refugees’ displacement in 1948 during the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe), HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said yesterday, according to a report by the official Qatar News Agency.“This is why it is true to say that the Palestine issue started as a cause of people who have been uprooted from their land; other cases are relatively recent, such as the situation of displaced Iraqis fleeing the siege and war, while some of them were displaced on sectarian cleansing background,” he told the opening session of the two-day 17th Doha Forum, being held under the topic ‘Development, Stability and Refugees Issues.’“We recall here with deep regret the displacement of Iraqi Christians, not only because of the suffering and tragedies in the aftermath of the displacement, as Muslims were also victimised, and millions of them, but because they changed the pluralistic nature of deep-rooted Arab societies and impacted their cultural richness.”HH the Emir noted that the war launched against the Syrian people continues to take its toll on them in terms of devastation and displacement. “According to international statistics, the number of Syrian refugees has reached 5mn since the outbreak of the crisis, while the displaced people inside Syria itself have reached nearly twice this figure. “People have resorted to other regions or countries to protect their children from the indiscriminate bombing by the regime’s aircraft, the collective punishment, the reprisals perpetrated by its forces and the militias allied with them, as well as the repressive behaviours of some radical movements that have imposed themselves on the Syrian people’s revolution rendered just by its legitimate demands.“The problem of refugees I am talking about has not resulted from poverty and lack of means of livelihood. It is the product of oppression, repression, absence of justice and racist practices carried out by sectarian militias acting against the rule of law and legitimacy, or by the intervention of external forces trying to impose their control and extend their influence, and crimes committed by terrorist groups. All this has led to an increase in the number of refuge seekers and displaced people who have resorted to neighbouring countries, before proceeding in millions to Europe, and were cut off and stranded. The situation of the refugees is further aggravated by the lack of commitment to implement the relevant international conventions,” the Emir emphasised. In fulfilment of its humanitarian obligations as a member of the international community and being aware of the magnitude of the tragedy suffered by the refugees, Qatar has done and continues to do all in its power to participate with the international community in providing all forms of support to the refugees through humanitarian and relief assistance, HH Sheikh Tamim said.“It is certain that in the end the solution must be political that achieves justice for the Syrian people who have passed through an unprecedented experience only because they have dared to aspire to freedom and justice,” the Emir said while pointing out that the Syrian regime has decided to displace its people and change their demographic structure instead of changing itself. HH Sheikh Tamim asserted that development and stability are interdependent and intertwined; there is no development without stability, and no stability without development. “Development in its broadest sense aims at uplifting the humans and realising communal stability. Development can achieve its objectives only through good governance, the rule of law, combating corruption and injustice, promoting and consolidating human values, achieving social justice and equality, in addition to non-marginalisation or exclusion in terms of faith or sect.“The absence of development and stability triggers trans-border influx of refugees, therefore national commitment to achieve them should not be separate from the international commitments on this issue. This could be done by means of realising global peace, justice in lieu of tyranny and where wars are waged by regimes against their own people. The international community is therefore in need of new forms of co-operation and the building of partnerships that transcend national identity to human identity. In this context, Qatar attaches great importance to achieving economic, social and human development that are in line with the agreed global development goals,” the Emir added.