Investing in UNRWA is ‘an investment in peace and hope’

 Thanking the Governments of Jordan and Sweden for organizing the pledging league for the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees successful the Near East (UNRWA), the UN main pointed retired the agency’s galore accomplishments.

In summation to providing much than fractional a cardinal children with precocious prime education, investing successful quality improvement and offering “lifelines of anticipation and opportunity”, UNRWA has besides enabled galore of its beneficiaries to “make bonzer contributions to their communities and to the satellite astatine large”, helium said.

“An concern successful UNRWA is an concern successful bid and hope”, spelled retired the apical UN official.

Protection and enactment needed

UNRWA besides plays a pivotal relation successful promoting determination stability, according to the UN chief, and yet, contempt that UN Member States person agreed connected its broad mandate for decades, Mr. Guterres reminded that it continues to look an existential crisis. 

“We request to protect UNRWA from being utilized arsenic a governmental pawn – and absorption connected its quality to transportation retired its General Assembly mandate and its unrelenting committedness to humanitarian principles and shared UN values”, helium underscored.

And, lacking capable funding, the UN bureau besides is being prevented from assisting Palestine refugees successful a predictable way.  

“These recurring backing crises person led UNRWA to present austerity measures. But these person reached their limits”, said the UN chief, stressing the request for “adequate resources, including quality resources”.

Short- and semipermanent backing asks

To code this, the Secretary-General has asked the General Assembly for further posts from the UN Regular Budget and made 2 circumstantial requests to the conference.

The archetypal was to span the contiguous backing spread to support UNRWA’s indispensable health, acquisition and services active.

“A disruption of services and salaries would person a crippling interaction – particularly successful a portion already struggling with the consequences of the pandemic”, helium said.

Secondly, helium urged Member States to measurement up longer-term commitments and solidarity and to lucifer the generosity of the countries that big Palestine refugees.

“We request to collectively find a way towards much predictable, capable and sustainable backing for the agency, including done multi-year commitments”, Mr. Guterres asserted.  

Giving thanks

In closing, the Secretary-General expressed heavy admiration for UNRWA’s day-in-day out” work.

“The teachers, the doctors and nurses, the sanitation workers, the engineers, and truthful galore others – all are moving nether utmost duress to supply Palestine refugees with entree to basal services that each of america instrumentality for granted”, helium said.

“Let’s assistance them assistance Palestine refugees”. 

© UNRWA

Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde (centre), co-chairs the UNRWA International Conference successful Brussels with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (right) connected 16 November 2021.

Thwart an ‘unstable vacuum’

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini described the bureau as “both a genuinely compelling story of global solidarity in action and a tragic illustration of ineffective and insufficient fiscal enactment that pushes it to the brink”. 

He cautioned that if “real solutions” are not recovered for present and the future, “the instauration volition precise soon jump over the brink”, leaving “an unstable vacuum successful its wake”.

“And nary situation likes a vacuum”, helium said.

Mr. Lazzarini appealed to the league participants to translate their governmental support into “predictable, capable and sustainable resources”. 

“Your support will ensure that UNRWA continues to be the irreplaceable and trusted lifeline for Palestine refugees until a just and lasting governmental solution is achieved”, helium concluded.