AMMAN — Commitments made during the Ministerial Conference to
support the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East (
UNRWA) have reached a minimum of 86 million dollars. This
financial support will enable the agency to maintain essential services until
at least October of the coming year.
اضافة اعلان
Tamara Al-Rifai, the spokesperson for UNRWA, highlighted
that the United States pledged 73 million dollars during the conference.
However, UNRWA is still awaiting approval from Congress for a 75-million-dollar
allocation dedicated to
food aid in Gaza, Al Mamlaka TV reported.
During the conference, jointly organized by Jordan and
Sweden in New York, Britain pledged approximately 13 million dollars, and
Luxembourg pledged half a million dollars, as reported by Al-Rifai.
The pledged amount from Washington, totaling 73 million
dollars, will be allocated to a combination of the
general budget (covering
core programs and salaries), emergency budget, and project budgets, according
to Rifai.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, stated, "The United States has contributed over 296
million dollars to UNRWA in 2023 alone, and the Biden administration has
contributed approximately a billion dollars since 2021."
Thomas-Greenfield urged other countries to step up their
efforts and provide the necessary financial commitments to
fund UNRWA until the
end of the year.
Following the announcement of these new commitments,
Al-Rifai noted that salaries for September and October would be covered, and
the agency would continue its efforts to mobilize additional resources for the
remainder of the year.
UNRWA Commissioner-General
Philippe Lazzarini, addressing
the conference before the commitments were made, emphasized that the agency
still needed between 170 and 190 million dollars to maintain its essential
services until the end of the current year. These services encompass education,
primary healthcare, and the social safety net.
To address urgent humanitarian needs, the agency requires
approximately 100 million dollars urgently to sustain life-saving food and cash
assistance programs in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon.
UNRWA has grappled with a chronic funding shortfall for
the past decade, and it began the current year with debts totaling 75 million
dollars from the 2022 fiscal year.
Established in 1949, UNRWA's mandate is to provide
humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestinian refugees in
the agency's operational areas until a just and lasting solution is achieved
for their plight. UNRWA operates in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and the West
Bank, including East Jerusalem.
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