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A Palestinian girl who left the West Bank for the first time stands outside the Dome of Rock in Jerusalem. At a “critical conference” supporting the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Secretary-General António Guterres outlined on Tuesday, the “essential role” it continues to play in generations of lives. Thanking the Governments of Jordan and Sweden for organizing the pledging conference for the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN chief pointed out the agency’s many accomplishments. In addition to providing more than half a million children with high quality education, investing in human development and offering “lifelines of hope and opportunity”, UNRWA has also enabled many of its beneficiaries to “make extraordinary contributions to their communities and to the world at large”, he said.
“An investment in UNRWA is an investment in peace and hope”, spelled out the top UN official.
Protection and support needed
UNRWA also plays a pivotal role in promoting regional stability, according to the UN chief, and yet, despite that UN Member States have agreed on its comprehensive mandate for decades, Mr. Guterres reminded that it continues to face an existential crisis.
“We need to protect UNRWA from being used as a political pawn – and focus on its ability to carry out its General Assembly mandate and its unrelenting commitment to humanitarian principles and shared UN values”, he underscored.
And, lacking sufficient funding, the UN agency also is being prevented from assisting Palestine refugees in a predictable way.
“These recurring funding crises have led UNRWA to introduce austerity measures. But these have reached their limits”, said the UN chief, stressing the need for “adequate resources, including human resources”.
Short- and long-term funding asks
To address this, the Secretary-General has asked the General Assembly for additional posts from the UN Regular Budget and made two specific requests to the conference.
The first was to bridge the immediate funding gap to keep UNRWA’s essential health, education and services active.
“A disruption of services and salaries would have a crippling impact – especially in a region already struggling with the consequences of the pandemic”, he said.
Secondly, he urged Member States to step up longer-term commitments and solidarity and to match the generosity of the countries that host Palestine refugees.
“We need to collectively find a path towards more predictable, sufficient and sustainable funding for the agency, including through multi-year commitments”, Mr. Guterres asserted.
Giving thanks
In closing, the Secretary-General expressed deep admiration for UNRWA’s day-in-day out” work.
“The teachers, the doctors and nurses, the sanitation workers, the engineers, and so many others – all are working under extreme duress to provide Palestine refugees with access to basic services that all of us take for granted”, he said.
“Let’s help them help Palestine refugees”.
Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde (centre), co-chairs the UNRWA International Conference in Brussels with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (right) on 16 November 2021.
Thwart an ‘unstable vacuum’
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini described the agency as “both a truly compelling story of global solidarity in action and a tragic example of ineffective and insufficient financial support that pushes it to the brink”.
He cautioned that if “real solutions” are not found for now and the future, “the institution will very soon jump over the brink”, leaving “an unstable vacuum in its wake”.
“And no environment likes a vacuum”, he said.
Mr. Lazzarini appealed to the conference participants to translate their political support into “predictable, sufficient and sustainable resources”.
“Your support will ensure that UNRWA continues to be the irreplaceable and trusted lifeline for Palestine refugees until a fair and lasting political solution is achieved”, he concluded.