Syria – France’s contribution to the Brussels II conference (Brussels, April 25)

This conference, chaired by the EU and the UN, made it possible to strengthen the international response to the humanitarian consequences of the crisis and improve support for the refugees and host countries.

During the conference, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne announced that the French effort for the period 2018-2020 would amount to more than a billion euros in support of the Syrian people and host communities: almost €250 million in grants and €850 million in loans. This commitment includes the €50 million emergency response program for Syria announced on April 16 by President Macron.

These announcements are consistent with the French support announced during the conferences in London in February 2016 and in Brussels in 2017. During the conferences we pledged to provide assistance amounting to €1.1 billion over three years (2016-2018): 200 million in grants for Syria and its neighboring countries and 900 million in loans for Jordan.

These amounts will make it possible to help the Syrian population and to establish the conditions in Syria conducive to the voluntary, safe and sustainable return of the refugees when the time is right. They should also help to bolster the economic resilience of the countries that are hosting the refugees, principally Jordan and Lebanon.

On the sidelines of the conference, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne delivered a speech during an event that was co-hosted by France on tackling impunity for the crimes committed in Syria. This is a priority for France’s diplomatic action; to that end, France reaffirmed its support for the International Commission of Inquiry and for the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to investigate the most serious crimes committed in Syria, both of which were represented at this event.

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne reaffirmed France’s determination to address the chemical weapons threat, which represents a global danger and serves to undermine the authority of international law. It was with this in mind that France launched, in Paris, the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons aimed at supporting the work initiated by the relevant international organizations, and at gathering, compiling and saving all available information on those responsible for using chemical weapons.