UNRWA Donors Conference Starts "to Increase Financial Support

Gaza, MINA – The work of the International Donors Conference to mobilize financial resources for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) begins today, Tuesday, in the Belgian capital, Brussels, under the auspices of Jordan and Sweden, with the participation of 70 personalities from 30 countries, under the title “Preserving the rights and human development of Palestinian refugees.”

The Agency is counting on the conference to be able to obtain sufficient financial support to manage its services in the five areas it covers, which are the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

UNRWA suffers from a budget deficit of $100 million, despite the return of US financial support, after stopping it during the past three years, but the crisis remained as it is, due to other donor countries slashing their donations by half.

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The donors’ conference will be held in the presence of dozens of representatives of the donor countries and the US administration, noting that one of the most important items of the conference will be the request from the donor countries to make multi-year financial pledges, and to commit to them, on a fixed basis that cannot be reduced over the next five years.

Financial support is provided to UNRWA through voluntary donations, and in many cases, donor countries reduce the value of their donations after they had provided a larger amount in the previous year, which affects the operational budget.

UNRWA was established in 1949 to serve Palestinian refugees, and it provides educational, health and social services to refugees in camps in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. (L-K-G/RE1)

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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)