KUWAIT GIVES US$15 MILLION FOR UNRWA'S HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WORK WITH PALESTINE REFUGEES
13 June 2015
Kuwait has donated US$15 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, for its work with Palestine refugees across the Middle East. The donation was announced at a ceremony in Geneva on 11 June, with the funds being passed to UNRWA by His Excellency, Mr Mansour Al-Otaibi, the Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait to the UN at a ceremony held in New York today.
“This welcome donation comes at a crucial time for UNRWA as developments in the region dramatically increase the needs of our refugees many of whom are caught up in the civil war in Syria and who are living under blockade and occupation in Gaza and the West Bank”, said UNRWA Commissioner General, Pierre Krähenbühl. “There are unprecedented pressures on our resources and I thank the Emir and people of Kuwait for this timely donation.”
In recent years Kuwait has been a generous and consistent donor to UNRWA. In 2013 Kuwait gave US$ 29 million to the Agency, US$ 12 million of which came through the Islamic Development Bank. Last year Kuwait provided US$ 17 million to UNRWA.
“It must not be forgotten that in addition to this support, Kuwait also graciously hosted the donor conference for Syria earlier this year which saw hundreds of million pledged and which are making a real difference in the lives of some of the most disadvantaged communities in the Middle East caught in a rising tide of militancy and conflict,” said Krähenbühl.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.
Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at more than US$ 106 million.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
Sami Mshasha
Chief of Communications & Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0724
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Country: Kuwait
Subject: Assistance, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 13/06/2015