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Following is a question by the Hon Ng Leung-sing and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, in the Legislative Council today (October 23):
Question:
According to reports of the United Nations and international relief organizations, the civil war in Syria has been worsening. As of date, more than 100 000 people have been killed and over 2 million refugees displaced (including 1 million children). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has considered allocating funds from the Disaster Relief Fund to international relief organizations such as the Hong Kong Red Cross and the Hong Kong Committee for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), etc. or using other means, to provide humanitarian aid to the refugees in Syria; if it has considered, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The civil war in Syria has resulted in heavy casualties and refugee problems. It is noted that some relief organisations in Hong Kong have conducted fund-raising campaigns, appealing for the public to make donations for the Syrian refugees.
The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) was established in 1993 to provide a ready mechanism for Hong Kong to respond swiftly to international appeals for humanitarian aid in relief of disasters that occur outside Hong Kong. The DRF mechanism is to cater for applications for emergency relief to disasters which are of a sudden nature. The grants should only be made in cases of a specific disaster, not an on-going problem.
At present, the Administration has no plan to make grants from DRF for the Syrian refugees. This is because the refugee problem caused by the prolonged war in Syria is not a specific disaster as such and hence cannot meet the criterion under the Guidelines for Grants from DRF that grants should only be made in cases of a specific disaster.
Ends/Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 13:00
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