Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 28/06/2021
On the occasion of World Refugee Day, the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a lecture on "Islamic Philanthropy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)", which came as part of a series of periodic cultural lectures held by the OIC General Secretariat at its headquarters in Jeddah.
Mr. Khaled Khalifa, Representative of the UNHCR to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Advisor to the High Commissioner for Islamic Finance, delivered the virtual lecture on Sunday, 27 June 2021, where he presented a number of UNHCR projects aimed at supporting refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). He noted that, at the end of last year, there was about 82.4 million refugees and IDPs in the world, more than half of them come from OIC Member States, and that there are about one million children born as refugees.
The UNHCR representative also touched on Islamic philanthropy that has become an important strategic trend for the UNHCR to provide the required support to persons of concern. He also highlighted the Refugee Zakat Fund for which an official mobile App has been launched through which donations can be made to refugees and IDPs.
