{"id":236478,"date":"2020-06-23T16:03:51","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T20:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=236478"},"modified":"2020-06-23T16:03:51","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T20:03:51","slug":"countries-raise-us-130-million-unrwa-and-commit-long-term-support-to-palestine-refugees-unrwa-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/countries-raise-us-130-million-unrwa-and-commit-long-term-support-to-palestine-refugees-unrwa-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Countries Raise US$ 130 Million UNRWA and Commit Long-term Support to Palestine Refugees – UNRWA Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
23 June 2020<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\"Countries<\/a><\/p>\n

Countries Raise $130 Million for UNRWA and Commit Long-Term Support to Palestine Refugees<\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

During an extra-ordinary global meeting on UNRWA at ministerial level hosted today by the governments of Sweden and Jordan, 75 governments and non-governmental organisations made $130 million in financial commitments to sustain the operations and services of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA<\/a>). UNRWA is the UN agency responsible for providing protection, health care, education, relief and social services, emergency response and other lifesaving services to more than 5.6 million Palestine refugees\u00a0across the Middle East<\/a>.\u00a0The needs of these refugees are rising as a consequence of the outbreak and long-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic downturn in host countries, and the political instability on top of the continued occupation of Palestinian Territory, the blockade on Gaza, and the conflict in Syria.<\/p>\n

The theme of this special pledging conference under Sweden and Jordan\u2019s leadership was \u201cA Strong UNRWA in a Challenging World\u2013 Mobilizing Collective Action.\u201d The gathering was co-chaired by Jordan\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates H.E Ayman Safadi and Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation H.E Peter Eriksson, with the special participation of His Excellency Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.<\/p>\n

Echoing many participants in today\u2019s event,\u00a0Ayman Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Expatriates of Jordan<\/strong>, told the conference that \u201cThis is a time for action. Supporting UNRWA is a necessary action. The agency has done all it could to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in its operations. We must stand by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minister for International Development Cooperation Peter Eriksson<\/strong>\u00a0urged traditional and non-traditional donors to \u201ctranslate political support for UNRWA into financial support and contribute to a more sustainable UNRWA with multi-annual support to its programme budget.\u201d The Minister added that \u201csupporting UNRWA is critical for stability by ensuring that half a million children can continue go to school and respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/strong>\u00a0said, \u201cIn December 2019, UN Member States voted overwhelmingly in support of renewing the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. UNRWA stands as a vital source of stability in a region rife with ongoing conflict and now also battling the health, economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. All nations must come together to create the long-term financial mechanisms necessary for the Agency to continue uninterrupted its UN-mandated mission to protect and assist a vulnerable population of 5.6 million Palestine refugees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results of today\u2019s conference demonstrate the international commitment to the rights and well-being of Palestine refugees and the role of UNRWA as their essential provider of human development and humanitarian aid until the political entities involved reach a just and lasting solution to their plight,\u201d said\u00a0UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini<\/strong>. \u201cPalestine refugees have long lived with the threat that UNRWA operations might be suspended. UNRWA has long lived from hand to mouth. Today, we took a significant step forward in addressing the Agency\u2019s chronic short and long-term financial challenges, including promoting multiyear agreements, expanding the donor base, and exploring innovative funding avenues and mechanisms. I commend today\u2019s participants for sharing our goal to promote the dignity and the rights of Palestine refugees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants included and ministers and senior officials from 75 governments and international organisations, representing all regional groups of the United Nations.<\/p>\n

The Agency\u2019s nearly 30,000 staff quickly adapted the way they run services to the new reality, while continuing to ensure Palestine refugees have access to education, health, relief and social services. Across all five of its geographic fields of operation, UNRWA addresses the most pressing humanitarian needs and lays down a pathway to human development.\u00a0 Poverty eradication and respect for human rights, central pillars of the SDGs, are at the core of the Agency\u2019s work on behalf of Palestine refugees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
Background Information:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

UNRWA<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.6 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

23 June 2020 Countries Raise $130 Million for UNRWA and Commit Long-Term Support to Palestine Refugees During an extra-ordinary global meeting on UNRWA at ministerial level hosted today by the governments of Sweden and Jordan, 75 governments and non-governmental organisations made $130 million in financial commitments to sustain the operations and services of the United […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[909,1149],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,1745],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-236478","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-jordan","country-sweden","document-category-press-release","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\/236478","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\/236478\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=236478"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=236478"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=236478"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=236478"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=236478"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=236478"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=236478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}