BICOM

The commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned yesterday that the US funding freeze “threatens one of the most successful and innovative human development endeavours in the Middle East”.

Pierre Krahenbuhl said that “not for the first time, UNRWA faces a formidable challenge in upholding its mandate – an expression of the will of the international community – preserving key services like education and health for Palestine refugees”.

On Tuesday the US State Department announced it was withholding $65m of funding for the UN agency, citing a need to “undertake a fundamental re-examination on UNRWA, both on the way it operates and in the way it is funded”.

During International Development questions in the House of Commons yesterday, the Middle East minister Alistair Burt said: “UNRWA has a unique role to protect and provide essential services to five million Palestinian refugees.”

He added: “We are deeply concerned about the impact of potential cuts in US funding on stability in the region and the continuity of UNRWA’s vital services: we will go on supporting them”.

On Wednesday Belgium pledged to allocate $23m to UNRWA. In a statement, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said: “Belgium is one of the few donors that provides this kind of multi-annual funding. Considering the financial difficulties which UNRWA currently faces, the Belgian annual contribution will be disbursed immediately.”

“I have a lot of respect for UNRWA’s work, which has to operate in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances. Living conditions in Gaza, Syria, the West Bank and elsewhere in the region are particularly tough. For a lot of Palestinian refugees, the UNRWA is the last life buoy. With the help of UNRWA half a million Palestinian children are able to go to school. This prevents them from falling prey to radicalization and extreme violence,” the deputy PM added.

EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said on Tuesday that the EU has renewed its continuous financial support to UNRWA and stresses its full commitment to the “two-state solution and for Jerusalem as a capital of both states”.

UNRWA has announced that in the next few days it will be launching “a global fundraising campaign” to make up the budget shortfall.