The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philip Lazarini, confirmed that the agency is in urgent need of $ 338 million in the near term and by the end of this year, of which $ 200 million is for its program budget. In addition to $ 95 million to respond to the appeal of the "emerging corona" Covid-19, in addition to $ 43 million for Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories mainly to enable it to continue providing food and cash assistance to one million poor refugees in Gaza and more than 400,000 in Syria and Lebanon.
Lazarini warned in a speech delivered on Wednesday to the meeting of the League of Arab States Council at the level of Arab foreign ministers in its 154th session, which was held via "video conference", chaired by the State of Palestine, that failure to receive the necessary funds would affect the vital services of millions of Palestinian refugees.
He said: If we are not able to implement our mandate due to insufficient resources, I will have no choice but to return to the General Assembly for guidance on which part of the mandate you wish to prioritize, adding that together we can avoid this and with your continued generous support we will collectively help preserve A sense of normality, predictability and stability among Palestine refugees and within the region.
He stressed that the support provided by the Arab League and its member states is crucial to UNRWA in facing the increasing political and financial challenges, stressing the importance of Palestine refugees continuing to enjoy protection and obtain support as long as their status remains unchanged.
The UNRWA Commissioner pointed out that the crises in the region remain without solutions while new crises appear to be constantly emerging, pointing out that in Lebanon the tragic explosion in Beirut has destroyed the human security of thousands of people, including nearly 200,000 Palestinian refugees, warning that Lebanon is facing "Daunting" financial, economic and political challenges.
He said: Nine years of conflict and the deteriorating economy in Syria pose enormous humanitarian challenges and it is reported that many Palestine refugee families are saving their food, indicating that in the West Bank, demolition of buildings, incursions and violence have become a daily occurrence, and Gaza is on the verge of collapse.
Lazarini added that while the challenges facing Palestine refugees and UNRWA are numerous, my top priority upon my appointment as Commissioner-General of the Agency was to protect the Palestine refugee community from the "Covid-19" pandemic, adding that for many months, UNRWA was able to prevent the spread of "Covid-19" in Palestine refugee camps are overcrowded, and have maintained all their services, "but we have moved to tele-education, telemedicine, and the delivery of basic medicines and food to homes."
Lazarini said, "Since last July, we are racing against time, as cases of" Covid-19 "among Palestine refugees have jumped from less than (200) injuries to more than (4,300) until last Thursday, and now the" Covid-19 "is fueling the pandemic of poverty. Extreme, alerting that despair and despair is growing among Palestine refugees who raised their eyes to us for more help, considering that despair is a dangerous feeling in a region of great turmoil.
He added: It is in this unstable and unpredictable environment that we need a stable agency more than ever before, and that the biggest challenge facing UNRWA is its financial stability as it operates at full capacity with insufficient resources year after year, month after month and the agency is on the brink of financial collapse. This is an unsustainable model.
He continued: “Despite the severity of the financial situation, I do not wish to increase the feeling of anxiety and insecurity that plague the refugees by making fearful public statements, indicating that to this day I do not know whether we will have sufficient resources to operate UNRWA operations until the end of the world.” Noting that despite this, he made a decision to prioritize the return of Palestine refugee children to education, and that last week more than half a million girls and boys began to return to education in UNRWA schools, stressing that education is central to all efforts aimed at giving them hope for a better future. The continuity of education requires a different model of funding, and our budgets are predetermined and predictable.
Lazarini pointed out that over the past five years - with the exception of 2018 - the UNRWA program budget - which is the backbone of the agency - has not been provided with sufficient resources to provide quality programs that match the commitments under the UNRWA mandate, pointing out that “funding is not predictable and the picture In the dark except for a few weeks, stressing that "UNRWA" owes its deep appreciation to the member states of the Arab League that support the agency with financial donations, noting that he had previously appealed to the member states of the United Nations to match their political support for the mandate of UNRWA with sufficient resources, appealing to the member states of the League Arab countries to do the same.
