{"id":287511,"date":"2023-06-02T09:28:19","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T13:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&#038;p=287511"},"modified":"2023-06-09T09:58:16","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T13:58:16","slug":"unrwa-pledge2023","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/unrwa-pledge2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Donors Pledge Contributions to Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees, as Agency Struggles with Maintaining Critical Services &#8211; Press Release (GA\/12505)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"block inline\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-meeting-session field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNRWA,<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>AM &amp; PM MEETINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"block\" style=\"text-align: right;\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-symbol field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item\"><strong>GA\/12505<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-dated field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong><time datetime=\"2023-06-02T12:00:00Z\">2 JUNE 2023<\/time><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/press.un.org\/fr\/2023\/ag12505.doc.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fran\u00e7ois\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/ar\/story\/2023\/06\/1120802\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A total of 25 donors today announced contributions to the 2023 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after two young Palestinian student parliamentarians told the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee of how urgently funding is needed to maintain access to all services including education \u2014 a rare beacon of hope amidst the ongoing crisis.<\/p>\n<p>The voluntary contributions were made during a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee, established by the General Assembly as the primary forum for announcing financial support.\u00a0 UNRWA has been providing health, education, relief and social services, as well as emergency humanitarian assistance, across its five fields of operation \u2014 Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip \u2014 since 1950 and currently serves some 5.9\u00a0million Palestine refugees.<\/p>\n<p>Ahmad Abu Daqqa, UNRWA Student Parliamentarian, said he is a Palestine refugee from Gaza and a student at Khuza Preparatory Boys School in Khan Younis, one of the 700 schools run by UNRWA. \u00a0He said UNRWA schools provide the only refuge in times of crisis as well as hope. \u00a0\u201cWe are the ones who have dreams that reach the stars, despite the painful reality of our lives,\u201d he said, asking delegates to continue their Governments\u2019 support for UNRWA as their funding keeps the schools, education and students\u2019 hope alive.<\/p>\n<p>Leen Sharqawi, a student at the UNRWA Nuzha School for Girls in Amman, Jordan, elected student representative and currently the deputy head of the Jordan-wide UNRWA school parliament, emphasized that she represented the voices of more than half a million boys and girls studying in UNRWA schools in the five fields of operation: \u00a0Jordan, Syria, Gaza, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Lebanon. \u00a0Citing leadership and public speaking as two skills that she has polished in UNRWA schools, she stressed: \u00a0\u201cWe are not just Palestine refugees \u2014 we are children who dream of becoming global citizens and who want to help the world become a better place\u201d.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_287618\" style=\"width: 2570px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-287618\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-287618 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"UNRWA School Parliamentarians from Jordan Leen Sharqawi and Ahmed Abu Daqqa from Gaza\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271440%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202560%201440%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271440%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoBLgkWIAIDVD0-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-287618\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">UNRWA School Parliamentarians from Jordan Leen Sharqawi and Ahmed Abu Daqqa from Gaza. Photo \u00a9UNISPAL<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si (Hungary), President of the General Assembly, noted that in May he had visited Jordan and the Jabal el-Hussein camp in Amman, witnessing the exceptional work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).\u00a0 Welcoming the student parliamentarians, he stated he had spoken with their peers about their hopes and dreams, rekindling his own optimism. \u00a0UNRWA represents some of the world\u2019s most essential workers \u2014 their tireless efforts, from Gaza to the West Bank, Jordan to Lebanon and Syria, striving to ensure social justice, educate future generations and protect women and girls.<\/p>\n<p>While UNRWA was initially established as a temporary apparatus, with no solution to the conflict in sight, the agency is still pleading for adequate funding. \u00a0Starting 2023 with a $75\u00a0million debt, UNRWA will run out of money by September unless immediate funds are disbursed \u2014 with real-life consequences for nearly 6\u00a0million refugees \u201cwho depend on commitments shown in this room\u201d, he stressed. \u00a0He called on donors to show real political and financial will to secure the future of UNRWA\u2019s critical operations.<\/p>\n<p>Earle Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet, speaking on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, underlined that, while the international community recognizes the essential role of UNRWA, it has allowed the agency to remain trapped in financial limbo, with soaring needs met by stagnating funds.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s be clear:\u00a0 UNRWA is on the verge of financial collapse \u2014 the consequences of further budget cuts would be catastrophic,\u201d he warned.\u00a0 Stressing the countless stories of opportunities created and lives forever changed, he further noted that the prospect of peace is remote and violence is raging on halfway into 2023 \u2014 pleading for Member States to \u201cnurture and sustain\u201d the hope represented by UNRWA.<\/p>\n<p>Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, noted that the agency has continued to provide essential services despite new escalations in the Gaza Strip, an earthquake in Syria, unprecedented violence across the West Bank, and financial meltdown in Lebanon.\u00a0 However, he stressed, Palestine refugees\u2019 resilience should not blind the international community from the underlying human tragedy. \u00a0\u201c\u202fWe are asked to provide Government-like services but are not receiving the means to do it,\u201d he affirmed.\u00a0Calling for $75\u00a0million to maintain the food pipeline for over 1\u00a0million people in the Gaza Strip and $30\u00a0million for cash and food assistance to 600,000 refugees, he warned that otherwise, UNRWA might implode in the coming months.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_287617\" style=\"width: 2570px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-287617\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-287617 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Meeting of the UN General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee for the purpose of announcing voluntary contributions to UNRWA\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271920%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202560%201920%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272560%27%20height%3D%271920%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FxoIOrFWwAEyknu-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-287617\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meeting of the UN General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee for the purpose of announcing voluntary contributions to UNRWA. Photo \u00a9UNISPAL<\/p><\/div>\n<p><u>Pledges<\/u><\/p>\n<p>The following delegations confirmed 2023 pledges in the following amounts:\u00a0 Estonia (\u20ac80,000); Malaysia ($200,000); Canada ($3\u00a0million); Switzerland (3\u00a0million Swiss francs); Norway (an additional 25\u00a0million Norwegian Krone, totalling 300\u00a0million Norwegian Krone for 2023); Republic of Korea ($1.7\u00a0million); United Kingdom (\u00a310\u00a0million); Slovenia (an additional \u20ac100,000 on top of the \u20ac50,000 already allocated for 2023); Qatar ($8\u00a0million for 2023 and $8\u00a0million for 2024); Luxembourg (an additional \u20ac400,000, making the total \u20ac4.5\u00a0million while also noting that the total could reach \u20ac5.5\u00a0million for 2023); Cyprus (\u20ac100,000); Ireland (\u20ac2\u00a0million); Germany (\u20ac117\u00a0million); Malta (\u20ac75,000); Montenegro ($10,000); Kuwait ($2\u00a0million); Poland ($230,000); Iceland (50\u00a0million Icelandic kroners); New Zealand ($609,000); Philippines ($50,000); Belgium ($11.5\u00a0million); Russian Federation ($10\u00a0million by 2026); United Arab Emirates ($4\u00a0million over 2023 and 2024); Lithuania ($30,000); and Brazil ($75,000).<\/p>\n<p>The following delegations also drew attention to the contributions and commitments they had already made in multi-year pledges and arrangements with UNRWA:\u00a0 European Union (\u20ac400\u00a0million annually, with support between 2022 and 2024 amounting to minimum \u20ac261\u00a0million); Malaysia (pledged in 2021 to commit to a long-term contribution of $1\u00a0million over the span of 5 years, has disbursed $200,000 for 2023); Sweden ($40\u00a0million already disbursed for 2023); Estonia (\u20ac80,000 for 2023); Canada ($100\u00a0million over 4 years); Japan ($40.1\u00a0million so far for 2023); United States ($889\u00a0million since 2021); Greece (\u20ac40,000); T\u00fcrkiye ($10\u00a0million for 2023); India ($25\u00a0million over the past five years); Switzerland (20\u00a0million Swiss francs for 2023-24); Austria (\u20ac400,000 earlier for 2023, \u20ac5.4\u00a0million); Denmark ($75\u00a0million for 2023-2027); Romania (\u20ac50,000 earlier for 2023, will reach \u20ac250,000); Australia (its annual support since 1951 and its announcement of AUS$20\u00a0million for 2022-2023, which it will maintain in the coming financial year); Monaco (\u20ac400,000); Liechtenstein (100,000 Swiss francs); China ($1\u00a0million); Thailand ($200,000 for 2022 to 2026); Qatar ($50\u00a0million in 2018 on education, $20\u00a0million to support Palestinians in Syria, $12\u00a0million through the committee on rebuilding the Gaza Strip, $2.5\u00a0million to the 2022 UNRWA appeal); Luxembourg (\u20ac12.3\u00a0million for 2022-2024); Saudi Arabia ($27\u00a0million at the end of 2022); Ireland (\u20ac6\u00a0million already in 2023); France (\u20ac33\u00a0million for 2023); Indonesia ($2\u00a0million over the past 5 years, pledged a further 2023 disbursement in June); Spain (\u20ac6.25\u00a0million so far); Netherlands (\u20ac19\u00a0million for three years); and Latvia (considering increasing its annual contribution).<\/p>\n<p>Further support for UNRWA was expressed by representatives of Egypt; Bangladesh; Syria; Jordan; Tunisia; Maldives; Lebanon; Cuba; Finland; Pakistan; Bahrain; and the Holy See.<\/p>\n<p>After those interventions, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, noted this year marks 75 years since the Nakba\u2019s onset in 1948 and the exile of millions of Palestine refugees \u2014 the longest-standing refugee crisis in the world.\u00a0 UNRWA still exists because of this ongoing injustice, one of the international community\u2019s most significant humanitarian, development and human security undertakings.\u00a0 Thanking all countries and organizations for their generous contributions, additional support and\/or commitments to multi-year funding, he stressed that sole reliance on voluntary contributions for core services is unsustainable \u2014 reiterating his call for a larger assessed contribution from the United Nations budget.\u00a0\u201cWe must act quickly to reverse the funding decline that threatens to undermine or halt UNRWA assistance,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNRWA, AM &amp; PM MEETINGS GA\/12505 2 JUNE 2023 Fran\u00e7ois\u00a0 Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629 A total of 25 donors today announced contributions to the 2023 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after two young Palestinian student parliamentarians told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/unrwa-pledge2023\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1365,6169,1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,6650,2153,1745],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542,6541],"class_list":["post-287511","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-general-assembly","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-funding-needs","document-subject-refugee-camps","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287511","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":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287619,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287511\/revisions\/287619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=287511"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=287511"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=287511"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=287511"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=287511"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=287511"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=287511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}