Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary

Contributions to UNRWA

AM Meeting

DONORS PLEDGE $100 MILLION FOR PALESTINE RELIEF AGENCY BUDGET

 

Twenty-three donors pledged approximately $99.8 million for the 2007 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), during a meeting this morning of the General Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions.

As he opened the meeting, General Assembly Acting President Abdullah Ahmed Mohamed Al-Murad ( Kuwait) said that the Assembly had an important role to play as a “parent” to UNRWA, the only United Nations programme that was a direct subsidiary of the Assembly.  Since its establishment in 1949, UNRWA had grown to become the United Nations’ largest operational agency; it was currently providing education, health, relief and social services to more than 4 million Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  He praised the dedicated and hard-working UNRWA staff for the vital and invaluable services they provided there.

He also noted that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had identified the Occupied Palestinian Territory as one of only three areas in the Middle East that was making steady progress towards meeting key health objectives of the Millennium Development Goals.  That progress was occurring in a territory whose economy had been bled dry, and whose cities, villages and refugee camps had been devastated by conflict for six years.  UNRWA, which provided primary health care to 40 per cent of the overall refugee population and for 70 per cent of those in Gaza, must be credited with helping to achieve such remarkable progress and deserved generous support, so it could continue providing services to the refugees.

Noting the present situation on the ground, UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi said that, in contrast with the cautious optimism of last year, international organizations were now warning about the dire situation facing the Palestinian populations of Gaza and the West Bank.  The economic siege imposed on the Palestinian territories following the January legislative elections that brought Hamas to power, violence between Israel and various Palestinian factions, internal conflict, a breakdown in law and order, and external pressure tactics had all resulted in a poverty rate that in the Gaza Strip had reached a staggering 80 per cent.  The result was “an economy on life support –- kept barely alive by the drip feed of international assistance.”  He predicted the Emergency Appeal for next year would need to rise considerably to accommodate the growing needs.

He said that the medium-term plan, launched in early 2005 and aimed at ensuring that the standard of services provided to refugees was not below that provided by host authorities to their own people, had been largely put on hold as a result of the modest response from the donor community.  $487.1 million was being sought for 2007 for the General Fund, an increase of $16.1 million from 2006.  The results, so far, had been disappointing.  Compared with 2005, there had been virtually no change in the overall level of funding, and the current operational deficit of $108 million posed a severe challenge.  Should a similar shortfall occur in 2007, there would surely be a significant deterioration in the Agency’s services, which would leave no room for manoeuvre in the face of unexpected developments.  With UNRWA providing essential public services, any serious financial situation would have a very negative impact on the Palestine refugee communities and cause a ripple effect on social and political stability in the region.

Response to the Emergency Appeal had been more positive, he noted.  Almost $139 million had been pledged, more than 80 per cent of the amount requested from donors.  More would be needed next year, and it would be especially appreciated if new, non-traditional donors, such as those benefiting from the current oil price boom, would join in the endeavour.  Resources pledged to emergency activities or organizational development must not, however, be a reason for diverting precious resources away from the General Fund regular budget, he said.

The representatives of Sweden, Bahrain, Netherlands, Egypt, Turkey, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia, China, Norway, Republic of Korea, United Arab Emirates, and France made pledges during the meeting.

Also making a pledge was the observer for the Holy See.

The representatives of Japan, the United States and the European Community said that their Governments would announce a pledge at a later date.

Closing the meeting, the observer for Palestine said that UNRWA was an instrumental lifeline for more than 4.3 million refugees.  He thanked Member States and others for their contributions, saying that such support was essential to regional stability.  He urged Member States to increase their support to UNRWA during such difficult times, as the heightened need for emergency humanitarian assistance over the past six years had burdened the agency’s budget.  He saluted the brave men and women working at UNRWA.

The issue of Palestinian refugees had been an open wound for 58 years, he continued.  While UNRWA provided needed services, that wound could only be healed through a just political solution that gave Palestinians the full actualization of their inalienable national rights, including to an independent States on all the land that Israel had occupied in 1967.  The Palestinians looked forward to the day they could shed their imposed refugee status and enjoy the rights afforded to them under various international resolutions, especially General Assembly resolution 194, which was the key to finding a just solution.

Pledges

Country	Amount Pledged	Local Currency
Sweden	$34,000,000
Bahrain	$30,000
Netherlands	$15,546,000	€11,800,000
Egypt	$10,000
Turkey	$500,000
Kuwait	$1,500,000
Luxembourg	$2,503,000	€1,900,000
Denmark	$10,600,000	60,000,000 DKr
Austria	$1,976,250	€1,500,000
Holy See	$20,000
Japan	to be announced
European Community	to be announced
Belgium	$1,200,000; more to be announced
Slovenia	$20,000
China	$80,000
Norway	$23,961,000	150,000,000 NKr
United States	to be announced
Republic of Korea	$100,000
United Arab Emirates	$500,000
France	$7,246,000	€5,500,000
Maldives	$1,000
Thailand	$30,000
Tunisia	$9,302	12,000 dinars

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For information media • not an official record