Background Brief - Supporting the future of Syria and the region - Brussels II Conference 24-25 April 2018

The conference brought together participants from more than 85 countries and organisations at ministerial level to discuss all key aspects of the Syria crisis: political, humanitarian and regional dimension. The conference seeks to maintain international engagement in delivering assistance to the Syrian people and host communities.  

The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini co-chaired the conference on behalf of the European Union, together with Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations and Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. For the UN, among others, under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and UN Development Programme Administrator Achim Steiner are expected to attend. 

The first day of the conference (24 April) brought together around 200 NGOs from Syria and the region. Separately, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, together with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, also met representatives from Syrian civil society.