The UN agency for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip lacks political ‘neutrality’, but Israel has yet to provide ‘proof’ of some members’ alleged links to ‘terrorist organizations’ like Hamas , experts commissioned by the UN concluded on Monday April 22. Tel Aviv’s accusations had largely slowed down international funding, even stopped it, particularly with regard to the United States. Could this report released yesterday help Washington resume funding the agency?
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The spokesperson for the American State Department may well say he is satisfied with the reaction of theUN to this audit, which promised to implement the suggested reforms, this will not change in the medium term American funding for UNRWA, 350 million dollars, reports our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten. For more than a month, the American Congress has banned all funding until March 2025, it has almost gone unnoticed and, to satisfy American parliamentarians who are really sensitive to anti-UNRWA propaganda, the measure has even been reiterated in the bill passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday April 20 and which must pass the Senate this Tuesday.
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The same goes for London. The British government declared, last January, “ temporarily suspend all future funding » at Unrwa, and on Monday 22, the conservative deputies insisted on maintaining this decision, notes our correspondent in London, Sidonie Gaucher. The UK is unlikely to change its mind, despite the publication of the results of the investigation. The country faces contradictory pressures.
As reported by Guardian On Monday, former Interior Minister Suella Braverman declared, surrounded by several Conservative MPs close to Israel, that “ Hamas used elements of the organization and that it would be immoral and shameful for the British government to finance UNRWA activities “. During its collaboration, the United Kingdom paid the equivalent of 40 million euros to the United Nations agency, almost half of which was in humanitarian aid. The government believes that humanitarian aid can continue “ to be taken over by other branches of the United Nations such as the World Food Program “.
Asked how UNRWA will be able to deal with this shortfall in its budget, it seems that the international community is rallying more and more around the agency, convinced by the results of the interim audit submitted mid- March.
“Our concern is around waste management, pests & vectors control as we move into summer.”@ScottAnderGaza warns that as weather gets warmer in #Gazasubstandard water & sanitation services are unable to meet the population’s needs, excelling the spread of disease. pic.twitter.com/Krl5oJSRPD
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) April 22, 2024
New private donors
Japan has thus unfrozen its $35 million contribution, certain donors have doubled their contribution – Norway, Spain or Ireland –, new countries have also joined the ranks of financiers – Portugal or Algeria, which for example promised 15 million dollars, or Iraq, which committed to paying 25 – and above all, and this is new, a trend has been created around solidarity for the Palestinian people.
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Private donors have poured in, contributing a total of $50 million since February. UNRWA currently has a sufficient budget to operate until the end of June, but it does not think that this will be enough to compensate for the hole created by this freezing of 350 million US dollars. Many more international commitments will be needed.
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The creation of UNRWA and its main missions
UNRWA was created at the end of December 1949 by the UN General Assembly after the first Arab-Israeli conflict which broke out following the creation of Israel in May 1948. Its mandate is to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees registered in the agency’s area of operations, “waiting for a just and lasting solution to their situation”.
More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their lands between April and August 1948 at the time of Israel’s creation, according to the UN. These people, as well as their descendants, have the status of refugees. UNRWA becomes the sole guarantor by default of their international status and intervenes in the Palestinian territories, but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Some 5.9 million Palestinians are registered with the agency and can benefit from services that include education, health care, social services, camps, as well as emergency assistance, including during of armed conflict. More than 540,000 children study in UNRWA schools. There are a total of around sixty refugee camps managed by the UN agency, including nineteen in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
In the Gaza Strip, where Hamas took power in 2007, the humanitarian situation was already critical before the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement. According to UN data dating from August 2023, 63% of residents then suffered from food insecurity and depended on international aid and more than 80% lived below the poverty line. Of the 30,000 people employed by the agency, 13,000 work in the Gaza Strip, spread across more than 300 facilities over an area of 365 square kilometers, according to the organization’s website.
The UN agency is financed largely by voluntary contributions from States. In 2022, for example, funds from the UN regular budget and contributions from other UN entities amounted to $44.6 million. The top five donors are the United States, Germany, the European Union, Sweden and Norway.