Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary
Contributions to UNRWA
1st Meeting (PM)
With Palestinian refugees gaining none of the political and human rights advances seen elsewhere in the Middle East, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) facing severe financial constraints, 18donors pledged contributions to the Agency’s 2012 budgetthis afternoon, with several Governments expressing their intention to announce their pledges at a later date.
Donors announced their voluntary contributions today at the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, which was established by the General Assembly as the primary forum in which donors could announce financial support for the Agency. UNRWA assists almost 5 million Palestinian refugees across its five fields of operation in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Opening the meeting, Csaba Körösi (Hungary), Vice-President of the Assembly, said that the lack of a political solution to the protracted conflict almost exactly 62 years after the establishment of UNRWA meant the Agency’s role was today “more vital than ever”.
“The winds of change have swept over the Arab region this year”, he said, and although schools and health centres remained open and operational and UNRWA staff continued to work on the ground, the situation in the region was “fragile and volatile” and posed a direct challenge to the Agency’s operations. It was important that the Agency’s crucial role was recognized, he said, as failure to meet its mandate could potentially cause “further dissatisfaction, anger and instability” in the region.
The Agency faced severe financial constraints, in part because of the financial environment facing the international community, he said. He noted the international community’s generosity under the circumstances and pointed out that the Agency had tried to limit spending and was reaching-out to non-traditional sources and expanding its donor base, including by entering into partnerships. He recalled the international community’s responsibility for the Palestinian refugees until a just solution was reached and urged Member States to consider increasing contributions, stressing the “tremendous importance” of the Agency’s work in providing services to the refugees. While reform efforts would continue, he said the Agency had improved its efficiency and effectiveness, and it made sure contributions were utilized in the best interests of the population it served.
The Deputy Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Margot Ellis, said 2011 had seen “momentous change” in the Middle East, with men and women standing up to call for greater human rights and freedoms, improved governance and better living conditions across the region. While changes continued in the region, “the situation on the ground for Palestinians and Palestine refugees remains the same”.
The need for UNRWA remained strong in the absence of a political solution, she said, adding that the refugees looked to the Agency for vital services, and the Agency looked to the General Assembly to provide the means to continue fulfilling its mandate. She said Israeli occupation negatively impacted Palestinians’ human rights and that, despite improved economic conditions, refugees remained vulnerable. Employment gains in the West Bank exclusively benefited non-refugees, while unemployment among refugees had increased. Home demolitions continued, with the West Bank Bedouin community seeing increased demolitions of houses, water wells, and other essential community assets. That had caused real fears that their indigenous way of life was at risk, which would, she said, “be a travesty of human rights”.
She welcomed measures by Israel to ease access of goods into Gaza, which had allowed reconstruction of schools and refugee homes damaged in 2008 and 2009. The Agency still faced delays, though, and the needs of refugees in Gaza were stark, she said. Approximately 7,000 students started school annually, abject poverty was rising, and youth unemployment reached 66 per cent, meaning refugees needed UNRWA “to retain hope and opportunities, and to regain their dignity”...READ MORE
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