UNRWA COMMISSIONER-GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS CRITICAL SITUATION
OF PALESTINE REFUGEES ON FIRST OFFICIAL TRIP TO PARIS
30 April 2015
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl highlighted the critical needs faced by Palestine refugees and was updated on France’s efforts to achieve durable peace in the Middle East during his first official visit to Paris this week.
During the April 28-29 visit, Mr. Krähenbühl met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations to discuss the ongoing cooperation between France and UNRWA, and the human suffering and devastation that is the daily reality in many of the Agency’s area of operations.
Discussions focused particularly on the situation in Yarmouk, Syria, where Palestinians and Syrians who have endured extreme hardship under siege and conflict for more than two years are today facing their worst crisis yet following the recent arrival of new armed groups in the camp. Mr. Krähenbühl emphasized that the UNRWA Syria Regional Crisis is severely underfunded. US$ 415 million is needed to meet the minimum needs of Palestine refugees, but only 20 per cent of this amount has been committed.
Discussions also centred on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and Mr. Krähenbühl underlined the importance of French efforts to achieve durable peace in the region.
“We welcome France's continued active political engagement in the region,” Mr. Krähenbühl said. “Palestine refugees throughout the Middle East have lived through generations of dispossession and the international community must remain committed to keeping hope alive.”
In 2014, France contributed US$ 8.3 million to the UNRWA General Fund, US$ 1.1 million for food aid and US$ 684,000 to the Gaza flash appeal.
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 US$ 100 million.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
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: France, Syria
Subject: Assistance, Humanitarian relief, Refugee camps, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 30/04/2015