Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah participated Friday, in the launching ceremony of the Global Islamic Refugee Fund (GARF). The global fund was launched with the support of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development of the Islamic Development Bank, with an initial capital of $100 million, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 77th session in New York. In a speech he delivered at the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Al-Rabeeah expressed his happiness with the partnership between the UNHCR and the Islamic Development Bank to help millions of people around the world who have been forcibly displaced from their homes by providing effective and continuous support to refugees, displaced persons, and host communities. Dr. Al-Rabeeah added, "Amid increasing numbers of crises around the world, the OIC region contains the largest number of refugees in the world, and we all realize and bear the responsibility that we have to provide everything that refugees and displaced people need to live a safe, healthy and decent life." He added that GARF will help achieve this humanitarian goal, and, given the significant economic challenges the world is facing, and the limited donor base, there is no better time than now to introduce innovative ways to increase funding modalities. However, he said, the success of this fund depends on the participation of accredited partners and project-based financing with a clear and transparent monitoring process. It is noteworthy that GARF came to be a financing tool for the refugee category, in compliance with the provisions and principles of Islamic Shariah. The fund consists of an endowment account and a non-endowment account, to receive and invest donations per the principles of Islamic finance, and their proceeds are deposited in a trust account to finance programs responding to the needs of refugees, displaced persons, and their host communities in the member countries of the Islamic Development Bank. The Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development contributed $50 million to the endowment account, and UNHCR contributed $50 million to the non-endowment account, as initial capital for launching this initiative, with an amount of $100 million. The fund also seeks to mobilize additional capital with a minimum target of $400 million by opening the door for donations to those wishing to contribute. — SPA
