The Secretary-General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy received in his office in Jeddah on Wednesday 2 Jamada Al-Awal 1442, corresponding to 16 December 2020, a delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, headed by Prof. Khaled Khalifa, the UN representative in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Dr. Mamoun Mohsen, who thanked and appreciated His Excellency for the fatwah of the Academy allowing the Office of the High Commissioner to receive Zakat and charity funds from all over the world and distribute them to deserving people such as refugees and displaced persons. They also expressed their deep gratitude for the great effect of this fatwah. As a result, the Commissariat received $46 million as Zakat funds and $9,2 million dollars as charity funds between January and June 2020.

The delegation invited H.E. Prof. Koutoub Sano to participate in the workshops to be organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2021 to discuss the conditions of displaced persons and refugees and to organize the reception of Zakat, charities and donations to be spent in the camps established by the Office of the UN High Commissioner in Nigeria. His Excellency welcomed this invitation and promised to respond to it with the will of Allah the Almighty.

His Excellency also reviewed with the delegation the issue of street children and the rights of the child, explaining that this phenomenon, which is social, religious and political, is disturbing and dangerous and thus requires concerted efforts by governments, organizations and councils to address and eliminate it, as is the case with the phenomenon of exploitation of disabled persons in begging by gangs.

His Excellency also stressed the seriousness of this problem and its repercussions, particularly on the security aspects of societies around the world. At the end of the meeting, both parties exchanged commemorative gifts on this occasion.