The 2023 UNRWA Pledging Conference in New York on 2 June. © 2023 UNRWA Photo
New York: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has sounded the alarm about the Agency’s deepening funding crisis and said it was on the verge of financial collapse.
The UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that pledges at the funding conference of the Agency on June 2, 2023 (local time) were not sufficient to cover its financial requirements from September 2023 onwards. In fact, some of the largest and most reliable donors have recently signalled to UNRWA they might reduce their contributions. The Agency is already operating with a shortfall of around $75 million.
Collectively, Member States pledged US$ 812.3 million, of which US$ 107.2 million are new contributions. However, Lazzarini claimed they were below the funds that the Agency needs to keep over 700 UNRWA schools and 140 clinics open from September onwards.
“The consequences of further budget cuts would be nothing short of catastrophic,” Lazzarini said while pointing out this will adversely impact the lives of millions of Palestine refugees relying on essential services – Services like education for over half a million girls and boys; health care for around 2 million people; job opportunities for youth in Gaza and elsewhere; psychosocial support for hundreds of thousands of children; and a social safety net for nearly half a million of the poorest Palestinians.
“Every year we meet — and every year we confront the same contradiction. On the one hand, we all recognize the essential role that UNRWA plays: as a safety net for the most vulnerable; a pillar of regional stability; a catalyst for development; a critical conflict prevention tool; and a lifeline of hope and opportunity for millions. On the other hand, however, we allow UNRWA to remain trapped in financial limbo,” Lazzarini told the funding conference.
UNRWA was created to support one of the first humanitarian operations of the United Nations nearly 75 years ago. And still, the prospect of peace remains remote. If anything, it is receding. In a message delivered on behalf of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, he said: “In this darkening picture, UNRWA is one of the few rays of hope. I urge you to nurture and sustain this hope.”
The past year was the deadliest for Palestinians since the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs began systematically tracking fatalities in 2005. Halfway into the new year, violence rages on without reprieve.
There is no alternative to a political solution that realizes the vision of two States — Israel and Palestine — living side by side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States. The outlines of this solution are well known: they are laid out in United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements.
“But realities on the ground — from the continuing occupation to expanding settlement construction — are working against us. In this darkening picture, UNRWA is one of the few rays of hope. I urge you to nurture and sustain this hope. Do your part and ensure that UNRWA is fully funded. Let us help UNRWA help Palestine refugees,” Lazzarini told the funding conference. He noted that Palestine refugees feel the impact of underfunding on their lives every day. “It adds to their feeling of abandonment and despair at a time when the prospect for a lasting solution has never been so out of reach,” he added.
– global bihari bureau
