{"id":145669,"date":"2018-06-25T21:02:46","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T21:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=145669"},"modified":"2018-06-25T17:02:46","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T21:02:46","slug":"closing-unrwas-funding-gap-wise-investment-for-today-future-secretary-general-tells-pledging-conference-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/closing-unrwas-funding-gap-wise-investment-for-today-future-secretary-general-tells-pledging-conference-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Closing UNRWA\u2019s Funding Gap Wise Investment for Today, Future, Secretary-General Tells Pledging Conference – Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
SG\/SM\/19107-GA\/12034-PAL\/2224<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
25 JUNE 2018<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Following are UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 remarks to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA) Pledging Conference in New York today:<\/p>\n

We in the international community face a constant challenge \u2014 to address urgent matters while also keeping our focus on long-term priorities.\u00a0 This Pledging Conference for UNRWA is about doing both.<\/p>\n

The outstanding work of UNRWA has an immediate effect by meeting the urgent humanitarian needs of millions of Palestine refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.\u00a0 At the same time, this work provides a foundation of hope and dignity \u2014 serving as a critical conflict-prevention mechanism in a turbulent region and moving our world closer to the promise of the 2030\u00a0Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind.<\/p>\n

For decades, UNRWA\u2019s high-quality education has set the standard in the region.\u00a0 Gender parity has been the norm in schools for generations, an extraordinary accomplishment anywhere, let alone in a region that has struggled with this issue.\u00a0 UNRWA health care has attained near universal immunization.\u00a0 UNRWA microfinance programmes have invested $500\u00a0million in small business, with a focus on female-led households, raising Palestinian families out of poverty.\u00a0 And UNRWA\u2019s food assistance to 1.7\u00a0million refugees keeps hunger at bay.<\/p>\n

All these efforts have taken place in an environment of chronic economic hardship and conflict.\u00a0 I am deeply grateful to the Governments that have already contributed to UNRWA this year.\u00a0 Many of you advanced your funding, which provided the breathing space for UNRWA to react to its unexpected financial crisis.<\/p>\n

At the extraordinary ministerial conference in Rome and the League of Arab States Summit in Dammam, many more countries stepped up.\u00a0 Thanks to $200\u00a0million in new funding, UNRWA has been able to maintain its vital services.\u00a0 At the same time, UNRWA has taken extraordinary measures to reduce its expenditures by an additional $92\u00a0million.\u00a0 It has launched the campaign Dignity is Priceless to raise funds from individuals.\u00a0 It has received funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund, as well as from new mechanisms, such as a partnership with the innovative Education Cannot Wait fund.\u00a0 It is developing a trust fund with the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank; it developed itself an endowment fund as proposed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation\u00a0(OIC).\u00a0 In short, UNRWA has reacted swiftly to the crisis \u2014 seeking all available tools, reaching out to traditional and non-traditional financing.<\/p>\n

In time, I believe these efforts will create a sustainable funding base for UNRWA\u2019s future.\u00a0 But, these innovative efforts will not be sufficient to fully close the funding shortfall this year.\u00a0 We count on you, the Member States of the United Nations, to make up the difference.<\/p>\n

At the General Assembly, the international community made a collective commitment to provide assistance to Palestine refugees.\u00a0 I know too well the pressure you face when demands are great and resources are scarce.\u00a0 But, we cannot afford to allow UNRWA\u2019s vital efforts to falter.\u00a0 Failure to provide desperately needed resources comes with a price.\u00a0 More hardship for communities.\u00a0 More desperation for the region.\u00a0 More instability for our world.<\/p>\n

We need look no further than Gaza to see people who have suffered for too long and whose existence becomes more precarious by the day.\u00a0 Last year, I travelled there and met with UNRWA students.\u00a0 They spoke with eloquence and maturity about their situation, their aspirations, and the need for peace.\u00a0 We must not abandon them.\u00a0 We must do everything possible to ensure that food continues to arrive, that schools remain open and that people do not lose hope.<\/p>\n

Across the region, millions of Palestine refugees are counting on us to relieve their suffering and to help them to build a better future.\u00a0 They are counting on us for action now.\u00a0 I urge all of you to join together to close UNRWA\u2019s funding gap.\u00a0 It is a wise investment for today and for the future.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SG\/SM\/19107-GA\/12034-PAL\/2224 25 JUNE 2018     Following are UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 remarks to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA) Pledging Conference in New York today: We in the international community face a constant challenge \u2014 to address urgent matters while also keeping our focus on long-term […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2637,3205],"document-source":[5352,1897,1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,1745],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-145669","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-remarks","document-category-secretary-general-press-release","document-source-secretary-general","document-source-united-nations-department-of-public-information-dpi","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/145669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/145669\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=145669"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=145669"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=145669"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=145669"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=145669"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=145669"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=145669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}