The Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue has praised the UAE’s leadership and international excellence in charitable aid work, based on an index of the level of international giving of charity associations that was issued in 2016, which reviewed the charity activities of 140 countries.

In a report marking the annual International Day of Charity on 5th September, the centre stressed that the UAE has provided Yemen with humanitarian and development aid worth over US$2 billion between 2015 and 2017, and the Palestinian people with over $200 million, with part of this amount being donated through charity work.

The centre added that Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, member countries have donated substantial amounts of money, to reduce the suffering of the Syrian people.

Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qassim, Chairman of the Board of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, said that extreme poverty is one of their major challenges while adding that according to the United Nations, UN, over 767 million people around the world are suffering from extreme poverty.

He explained that even though the international community had managed to end the poverty of around one billion people in 1999, 1.7 billion people are still suffering from extreme poverty. He also highlighted the fact that the increasing levels of conflicts and violence in the Arab region have led to the deterioration of the economic and social conditions of vulnerable categories of people in many countries.

He stressed that the International Day of Charity 2017 is an opportunity to highlight the potential of increasing the role of charity association in eradicating poverty around the world, through volunteer work and charity activities.

Dr. Al Qassim referred to data issued on the donation goals of specialised organisations, which state that the total targeted amount of annual international donations is around $410.71 billion. He added that this total amount is higher than the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, of countries such as Norway, with $391 billion, and South Africa, with $317 billion.

According to the most recent report on donors by the Islamic Relief Association in the United States, US, over nine million people have benefited from charity donations provided by this organisation while adding that the International Relief Committee has helped over two million Syrian civilians, Dr. Al Qassim continued. He also highlighted the activities of other relief organisations, such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration, to support the Syrian people.

Dr. Al Qassim added that the war in Yemen is another example of a country that has benefited from the work of charity associations to reduce extreme poverty and provide civilians with humanitarian aid, as the current famine in the country is affecting the livelihood of around 17 million people. In response to this issue, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has donated $66.7 million in June 2017 to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation, WHO, to counter the emergence of Cholera in Yemen.