OTTAWA, Nov. 27, 2015 /CNW/ - The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is extremely grateful to the People and the Government of Canada for their generous contribution of 100 million Canadian dollars in support of emergency relief activities for those affected by the Syrian crisis.

"On behalf of High Commissioner Antonio Guterres, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Canadians and their government for the funding announced yesterday by Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie," said Furio De Angelis, UNHCR Representative in Canada.

"Canada has broken new ground. With the war in Syria continuing unabated, we asked Canadians to join with us in a spirit of solidarity and to contribute to the resources we need to do the job - Canada has responded."

The 100 million funding is tied to specific goals including to address urgent needs inside Syria, the refugee response in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq as well as the emergency response in some European transit countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia.

Canada's funding announcement coincides with its humanitarian programme to transfer of 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February 2016 for which UNHCR has also expressed strong support.

In addition, the UN Refugee Agency extends its appreciation to individual Canadians and other groups in Canada for their continued interest and involvement in preparations to welcome and facilitate the integration of Syrian refugees in Canada.

More information on Canada's contributions to UNHCR's operations can be found on our website www.unhcr.org or www.unhcr.ca

Backgrounders:

UNHCR leads and coordinates the response to the Syrian refugee situation in the host countries, working closely with the host governments and our UN and NGO partners. UNHCR currently has offices inside Syria and the four neighbouring countries that have been receiving the majority of Syrian refugees (Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq). The number of Syrian refugees registered or awaiting registration in the region stands at almost 4.3 million persons with 6.5 million people displaced inside Syria.

SOURCE United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

For further information: Gisèle Nyembwe, Public Information Associate, Tel: 613-232-0909 ext. 225 or 613-986-4300, [email protected]