Jordan, Spain, and Brazil are chairing a ministerial-level meeting Thursday to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), aiming to mobilize financial contributions on the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, according to UNRWA’s Director of External Relations and Communications, Tamara Al-Rifai.
اضافة اعلان
Al-Rifai told Al-Mamlaka that UN member states at the General Assembly must discuss any scenario they choose for UNRWA, stressing that defining its mandate is important but insufficient without adequate funding.
UNRWA continues to operate in five areas: Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. The agency faces a financial shortfall of nearly $200 million, with Arab funding declining sharply this year, compounded by the absence of support from the United States and Sweden, which has intensified the crisis.
Al-Rifai noted that the General Assembly will vote in early December on renewing UNRWA’s three-year mandate. Efforts are ongoing to secure broad political support matching the high level of endorsement the agency receives from the General Assembly.
She also highlighted an independent report recently released, outlining potential scenarios for UNRWA’s future—from the risk of collapse due to funding shortages to the integration of some of its services into the Palestinian public sector, supporting state-building and institutional strengthening.
