Interior minister meets with UNHCR commissioner

AMMAN — Minister of Interior Mazen Faraya on Tuesday met with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi.

Faraya stressed the shared responsibility for refugees and the need to execute the planned comprehensive resettlement programme. This is a humanitarian issue for all nations, he said.

Stressing the importance of facilitating voluntary return of refugees, Faraya said that integration is not an alternative, reiterating that a refugee’s true home is always their country of origin.

Considering the enormous economic challenges posed by successive arrivals of refugees, Faraya stressed the pressing need for increased support to Jordan to strengthen the country’s ongoing humanitarian commitment to refugees as it struggles with economic obstacles across multiple sectors.

The refugee issue has led to a spike in unemployment among Jordanian citizens, which can be attributed to an increased demand for government services in education, healthcare, energy, water, sanitation, environment and municipal facilities, among others, he said. Faraya noted that these repercussions affect social and security spheres on many levels.

Amid the external funding shortage for the World Food Programme, tailored to the needs of refugees, Faraya drew attention to the urgency of financial support for this vital programme, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.