UNRWA launches 2010 emergency appeal – UNRWA press release

UNRWA Launches 2010 Emergency Appeal, Urges International Community to Work to End Conflict

20 January 2009

East Jerusalem

Monday saw the launch of the 2010 Emergency Appeal of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), at a meeting in East Jerusalem for Agency and its major donors. The appeal event, hosted by Director of West Bank operations, Barbara Shenstone, and the Deputy Director of operations in the Gaza Strip, Sebastien Trives, came a year and a day after the conclusion of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Attendees heard how the humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip remained characterized by unemployment, food insecurity and socio-economic decline. Shenstone also took the opportunity to speak about the circumstances of the Palestinian residents of the West Bank, where the fragmentation of land, geographical restrictions on freedom of movement and limited access to employment and public services are redoubled by the problem of economic and social marginalization.

In 2010, she explained, UNRWA’s humanitarian work in the West Bank sought to alleviate the negative effects of those conditions on Palestine refugees. The Agency’s work in the area would include food aid, emergency employment, and the delivery of essential assistance to families living in poverty. The Agency would work to address the psychological impact of violence, a closure regime and difficult living conditions, as well as providing mobile services for isolated communities in the West Bank that are at risk of displacement, Shenstone said. The protection of the human rights of these and other marginalized groups would also be a priority.

UNRWA’s work in Gaza would continue, encompassing food aid, emergency employment, health and education added Sebastien Trives. He warned, however, that the after-effects of war and the continued blockade of the Strip was – where the environment was now characterized by difficult social conditions, economic challenges, psychological trauma and physical damage – posed a serious threat to the Agency’s ability to carry out its work. More than two-thirds of the victims of the Israeli assault were women and children, and the problem of destruction of public and private property remained, he added.

The Agency would continue in its efforts to help those affected by the conflict, he said. Activities intended to alleviate the psychological trauma suffered by many, such as the annual summer games for Gazan children, would still take place this year. But the blockade imposed on the area continued to hamper the Agency's efforts in the region. Trives urged the international community to end the siege.

Adding to this, Shenstone emphasized that the Agency sought urgently to pressure the international community to resolve the long-standing conflict and support UNRWA in its efforts to enable human development for Palestine refugees.

Background information:

UNRWA provides assistance and protection to Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. It does so by offering to a population of some 4.7 million refugees a range of human development and humanitarian services in primary and vocational education, primary health care, social safety-net, community support, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance and emergency response, including in situations of armed conflict. UNRWA’s role also encompasses advocacy and actions to address the human rights and protection needs of Palestine refugees.

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The Agency’s core budget for 2010 and 2011 stands at US$1.23 billion.

The Agency's 2010 emergency appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory amounts to US$73,049,589 for the West Bank and US$249,587,143 for the Gaza Strip.

For further information, please contact:

Chris Gunness, English spokesperson: +972 542 402 659/ c.gunness@unrwa.org   

Sami Mshasha, Arabic spokesperson: +972 542 168 295/ s.mshasha@unrwa.org 

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