– Now that Sweden is the first country to have received written promises and guarantees from Unrwa, I feel much more secure about paying out the core aid, says Minister for Development Cooperation Johan Forsell (M).
According to Forsell, the promises to Sweden are, among other things, that Unrwa’s employees must be checked against the EU’s sanctions lists and that Swedish aid funds must be protected if irregularities are discovered.
Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Åkesson is critical of the government resuming aid to UNRWA. According to Åkesson, the money is being misused for terrorist purposes.
– UNRWA needs to be reformed, but at the same time we have a terrible humanitarian situation and we have to deal with it, answers Forsell.
MP: Listens to Åkesson more than FN
According to Isabella Lövin, former aid minister for the Green Party, the government’s actions have been “disturbing and incomprehensible”.
The Green Party is critical of the government’s delay in resuming aid to UNRWA even after Sida stated that there is no reason to stop funding the organization.
Lövin believes that the government listens more to Jimmy Åkesson than Sida and the UN. Hear her reasoning in the video above.