United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called on the international community to cover a $100 million funding gap suffered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), noting that the agency is approaching the breaking point after austerity measures and sharp spending cuts.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the General Assembly on voluntary contributions, Guterres said that UNRWA's situation was distressed by comprehensive restrictions imposed on the occupied Palestinian territory that prevented its continued work, as well as a significant lack of funding.
The UN agency operates in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing aid, education, health care and social services, and sheltering some 2.6 million Palestinians.
The United States was the largest donor to UNRWA, but cut off its funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen of the agency's staff of participating in the attack launched by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7, 2023, to which Israel responded with a protracted war in the Gaza Strip.
Sweden has also cut its funding for 2025. Other major donors have suspended their funding to UNRWA pending an investigation into the allegations, but most have resumed their contributions.
Guterres said the agency's liquidity crisis had undermined its ability to meet its obligations during its mandate, which was renewed by the General Assembly six months ago with overwhelming support from members.
"They cannot continue like this without urgent support and financial support from member states," he said, noting that the agency has taken important steps to implement reforms and update its policy on foreign and political activities in the wake of Israeli accusations.
"UNRWA is a stabilizing force in an era of instability," he said, rejecting what he described as ongoing efforts to undermine the Agency through "disinformation, smear campaigns, legislative actions, operational restrictions, diplomatic obstacles and others."
Guterres added that such measures threaten the well-being of millions of Palestinians as well as UNRWA staff, noting that 390 of the Agency's staff have died in Gaza since October 2023.
He said 1,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire announced last October.
* Reducing the provision of services
The United Nations said it had dismissed nine UNRWA staff likely to have taken part in the October 2023 attack, which killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners.
The United Nations denies any links to Hamas and has vowed to open an investigation into all the accusations.
Guterres said UNRWA had reduced its service hours by 20 percent this year, cut the salaries of local staff and kept 15 percent of international posts vacant, adding that "any further cuts could push the situation beyond the breaking point."
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the agency was facing an existential crisis.
He added that the results of the meeting dedicated to voluntary donations will be announced today.
In 2025, UNRWA received pledges of US$ 887 million and contributions of US$ 829 million, covering only 27 per cent of the total funding needs of US$ 3.3 billion.
