According to Finland’s UN ambassador Elina Kalku, Finland and other countries that withdrew funding from the UN refugee organization helping the Palestinians have not decided on the conditions under which the support would be continued.
WASHINGTON. Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres met on Tuesday evening with representatives of countries that have decided to stop funding UNRWA, an organization that supports Palestinian refugees.
Guterres assured at the meeting that investigations into the involvement of some of the organization’s employees in the October 7 terrorist attack are progressing quickly. He also pleaded for the continuation of aid while the UN continues its investigation of the case.
Finland’s ambassador to the UN Elina Kalku attended the meeting organized on Tuesday evening. Last Saturday, Finland was one of the first countries to temporarily suspend UNRWA’s funding.
Kalkku says that Guterres gave the countries information about what the UN currently knows about the workers that Israel accuses of participating in the October 7 terrorist attacks. According to Kalku, the UN considers Israel’s intelligence information to be credible.
– Everyone is waiting for the results of what is revealed in the UN investigation. Kalkku says that interim information about the progress of the investigations was also requested from the Secretary General.
According to him, Finland has not made an outline of what should happen in order for funding to be continued.
– I don’t think that Finland’s or any other country’s position has yet been precisely defined in this matter, that what needs to be clarified in the investigation. But of course all UNRWA’s supporters assume that criminals must be caught and that the criminal penalties are clear, says Kalkku.
UNRWA has dismissed employees accused of participating in a terrorist attack. The organization maintains and finances basic services such as schools and hospitals in Gaza and Palestinian refugee camps.