Amman- The ninth conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region convened Tuesday in Amman under the theme “Together for Humanity.”

The three-day meeting tackles a scope of issues including the emergency response to challenges in the MENA region, the importance of promoting a culture of peace, tolerance and non-violence, as well as issues of displacement and migration in the region.

“Jordan is facing serious economic and social challenges as a result of political turmoil in the region and an influx of more than 1,300 million Syrian refugees, constituting approximately more that 20 percent of the Kingdom’s population,” said Jordan’s Senate President Faisal Fayez in his speech.

“The Kingdom has become a safe haven for millions of displaced Syrians, who came to Jordan after fleeing their war-torn country, looking for peace and security,” he added.

Fayez urged the international community to assume its responsibility to enable the Kingdom to perform this important humanitarian role it shoulders on behalf of the world.

Red Crescent Organization Vice President Mohammad al-Hadid said: “The instability in the region was a result of internal challenges such as ignorance, misconception of Islam and terrorism that destructs nations’ abilities.”

He added that the region is suffering from the consequences of Syrian displacement, especially that more than six million Syrian refugees were registered by the UNHCR in neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, turkey and Jordan.

Some 17 national societies from the MENA region are participating in the conference, which is co-organized with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Organization, in addition to a number of observers that represent global and regional humanitarian societies.