{"id":240880,"date":"2020-10-20T00:44:02","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T04:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=240880"},"modified":"2020-11-05T00:50:39","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T05:50:39","slug":"role-of-unrwa-more-urgent-than-ever-amid-covid-19-pandemic-delegates-say-as-fourth-committee-continues-joint-general-debate-press-release-ga-spd-720-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/role-of-unrwa-more-urgent-than-ever-amid-covid-19-pandemic-delegates-say-as-fourth-committee-continues-joint-general-debate-press-release-ga-spd-720-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Role of UNRWA More Urgent than Ever Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Delegates Say, as Fourth Committee Continues Joint General Debate – Press Release (GA\/SPD\/720) (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"
FOURTH COMMITTEE<\/strong>
\nSEVENTY-FIFTH SESSION,<\/span>\u00a05TH MEETING (PM)<\/span><\/strong>
\nGA\/SPD\/720<\/strong>
\n20 OCTOBER 2020<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

Amid the COVID\u201119 pandemic, the role played by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA) is more urgent than ever, delegates said today, calling for solutions to its financial crisis as the Fourth Committee\u00a0(Special Political and Decolonization) continued its joint general debate.<\/p>\n

Jordan\u2019s representative emphasized that UNRWA must continue providing services until a just solution to the Israel\u2011Palestine conflict is found.\u00a0 Warning of potential humanitarian and security repercussions if the Agency were to fail in fulfilling its mandate, he urged all Member States to honour their commitments in that regard.<\/p>\n

Noting that the Palestinian question remains the main driver of crises in the Middle East, he said a two\u2011State solution to the conflict requires a sovereign Palestinian State and, as such, cannot be achieved while Israel announces its intention to annex the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s representative warned that even if annexation is postponed, it is not off the table because illegal settlement activity continues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and will form the basis for future annexation plans.\u00a0 In that context, UNRWA\u2019s key role in supporting refugees is more crucial than ever, she said, emphasizing that adequate support requires stronger commitment from the international community.\u00a0 Turkey, for its part, has increased its contributions to the Agency tenfold in the last three years and participates in efforts to ensure predictable funding, she noted.<\/p>\n

Brazil\u2019s representative said UNRWA is helping a vulnerable population combat an unprecedented health crisis.\u00a0 The situation has introduced unforeseen costs to the Agency\u2019s already strained budget and, he announced in that context Brazil\u2019s donation to the Agency\u2019s Coronavirus Emergency Appeal.<\/p>\n

General Debate<\/u><\/p>\n

The representative of the\u00a0Russian Federation<\/u> called for…Turning to UNRWA, she said the Agency must have appropriate resources to continue its key efforts.\u00a0 Unlike other agencies, UNRWA has been balanced in its approach and has been able to avoid politicizing its efforts, she observed.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Jordan<\/u>\u00a0said the Palestinian question remains the main driver of crises in the Middle East region.\u00a0 The two\u2011State solution to the conflict requires a sovereign Palestinian State and as such, it cannot be achieved while Israel announces its will to annex the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.\u00a0 Moreover, Israel\u2019s announcement of new settlements thwarts any chance at comprehensive peace, he stressed.\u00a0 Jordan has been entrusted with religious sites in Al\u2011Quds\u2011Al\u2011Sharif and will firmly stand against any violation of these holy sites, especially the Al\u2011Aqsa Mosque, he said, stressing:\u00a0 \u201cWe will spare no effort to fight such violations.\u201d\u00a0 His delegation has always placed the question of Palestinian refugees and UNRWA at the top of its foreign policy priorities.\u00a0 As such it has sought to gather international support for UNRWA.\u00a0 On 15\u00a0October, Jordan and Sweden co\u2011chaired a ministerial dialogue to mobilize support for the Agency and discuss practical ways to overcome its financial challenges.\u00a0 Emphasizing that UNRWA must continue providing services until a just solution to the conflict is achieved, he warned against the humanitarian and security repercussions that would arise were UNRWA to fail in its mandate.\u00a0 As such, he urged all Member States to honour their commitments so that UNRWA can continue to meet refugees\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0India<\/u> expressed support for UNRWA and reported that her country has increased its annual pledge to the Agency and committed to a multi\u2011year donation.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Brazil<\/u>, associating himself with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries and the Group of 77, described…As for UNRWA, he noted that the Agency is helping a vulnerable population fight an unprecedented health crisis, adding that the situation has introduced unforeseen costs to its already strained budget.\u00a0 In that context, Brazil has announced a donation to UNRWA’s Coronavirus Emergency Appeal, he reported.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Turkey<\/u>\u00a0noted that Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestinian territory and violations of international law continue unabated, including demolitions, arbitrary arrests and movement restrictions.\u00a0 COVID\u201119 has exacerbated the desperate situation, she said, stressing that the parameters of United Nations resolutions must be reinforced in order to find a just solution.\u00a0 Even if annexation is postponed, it is not off the table, she pointed out, warning that the construction of illegal settlements in the Territories continues and will be the basis for future annexation plans.\u00a0 In that context, UNRWA\u2019s key role in supporting refugees is more crucial than ever.\u00a0 Adequate support for the Agency requires stronger commitment and monetary contribution from the international community, she said, noting that Turkey has increased its contribution ten-fold in the last three years and participates in efforts to ensure predictable funding.\u00a0 Citing the findings of the Working Group\u2019s report, she called for additional voluntary contributions to the Agency.<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Malaysia<\/u>, aligning himself with Non\u2011Aligned Movement and ASEAN, said…Focusing on UNWRA, he said its unwavering work has assisted and protected more than 5 million Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.\u00a0 He strongly condemned Israel\u2019s flagrant violations, including the continued restrictions on UNRWA personnel and the movement of goods in the West Bank and Gaza, which have undermined the Agency\u2019s ability to effectively execute its mandate.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

The representative of\u00a0Angola<\/u>, associating himself with the Group of 77, the Non\u2011Aligned Movement and the Community or Portuguese\u2011Speaking Countries, said…Angola supports UNRWA and the Palestinian people\u2019s right to self-determination, he added.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

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

FOURTH COMMITTEE SEVENTY-FIFTH SESSION,\u00a05TH MEETING (PM) GA\/SPD\/720 20 OCTOBER 2020 Fran\u00e7ais Amid the COVID\u201119 pandemic, the role played by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA) is more urgent than ever, delegates said today, calling for solutions to its financial crisis as the Fourth Committee\u00a0(Special Political and Decolonization) […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1365,5618,1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,1745],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6541],"class_list":["post-240880","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-general-assembly","document-source-general-assembly-fourth-committee-special-political-and-decolonization","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-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/240880","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\/240880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=240880"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=240880"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=240880"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=240880"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=240880"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=240880"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=240880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}