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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Atef Al-Tarawneh, said "Jordan does not crave international assistance," it is a moral duty that touches on obligations of international organizations and bodies, which means today they are requested to provide more support to the host countries.

Speaking to a meeting of the Committee of Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Wednesday, in presence of the Minister of Planning Emad Fakhouri, a group of MPs and delegates from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, Tarawneh said the gathering is of paramount importance as it addresses the key issue of refugee-hosting countries today, which has placed tremendous burdens on our country and contributed to trigger weak economic growth and high rates of unemployment and poverty.

Jordan has received many waves of refugees over the years, which have triggered security, economic and social ramifications. It feels internationally abandoned in a country which originally suffers a shortage of resources and difficult economic conditions, he said.

On the Palestinian refugee plight, it is significant to recall today that the wave of Palestinian refugees was triggered by the arrogance and brutality of the Israeli occupation, which is a pending issue in the final status settlement that directly affects Jordan's interests, especially ensuring the right of return and compensation.

International commitments made at the Rome meeting recently in support of UNRWA need to be met and to exert pressure to stop the continued threat from some forces to weaken the agency's role, he affirmed.

On the successive refugee waves, he cited the Syrian refugee crisis as one of the largest that impacted Jordan, which hosts about 1.3 million Syrian brethren, who make up around one-fifth of the Kingdom's population and live in Jordanian cities, governorates, and camps.

This crisis has adverse impacts on vital sectors such as water, municipal services, health and education, he explained.

To counter this crisis, he highlighted King Abdullah II's directives to develop a sustainable and effective plan to address the the refugee crisis, which has played an active role in prioritizing support based on achieving development goals for the affected communities.

" We look forward to more solutions and programs that ultimately enable sustainable solutions to care for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their country so as not turn into refugees and to enable refugees to return to their homeland" he pointed out.